Torchwood In Spain
by GwenOwenforever
Summary: The team are asked to go to Spain to investigate a series of strange disappearances. This puts a strain on Gwen's relationship with Rhys but brings her closer to someone else.


**Disclaimer:** I do not own Torchwood. It's not mine!

**A/N:** Thank you again to **Madbean** for your awesome ideas! They're all so amazing. Also, seriously can't wait for the new series! Always said the first two series were the best until Tosh and Owen died (my beloved Owen ='( ), series three was good until Ianto and Steven died. The new series isn't going to be as good as the first two series but still, it looks amazing and I can't wait to see it! =) Anyway, on with the show...

"Jack, don't bother calling me tonight for any alien emergencies, I'm going out with Rhys." Gwen said as they finished up for the night.

Owen, who was quickly putting on his jacket, slowed down his movements and looked towards Gwen.

"Anywhere nice?" Jack asked.

"Just the local for a few drinks. We haven't had a lot of time together recently so I promised I'd take the night off." She told him.

"Well, enjoy your night." Jack smiled.

Owen smirked as he left the Hub through the rolling door. He hid to the side and waited for Gwen to come out.

Minutes later, he heard the door open and Gwen stepped around the corner. She didn't notice him and jumped when he grabbed her wrist.

"How about you ditch the boyfriend and come to mine tonight?" He smirked.

"No thanks Owen." She answered curtly, pulling out of his grasp.

"Oh come on Gwen." He said.

"No Owen." She said firmly.

He stared at her for a few seconds before smiling and backing away, his hands in the air.

"Fine. I hope you have a good time." He shrugged.

She watched him suspiciously as she walked past. Owen never gave up that easily. What was he up to?

As she drove home, she couldn't stop thinking about the way Owen had just let her go. There was something in his eyes when he smiled at her, something she didn't quite recognise. For some reason, her mind was telling her not to go out with Rhys, that they should stay in instead. Something was going to happen tonight, something involving a certain doctor. She shook the thought away and scolded herself for being stupid.

She let herself into the flat and wandered into the living room.

"Rhys." She called.

"Bedroom." He answered.

Gwen turned and walked into the bedroom. Rhys was wearing his robe and rubbing at his wet hair, obviously fresh from the shower.

He smiled as she walked over to him and kissed his lips.

"Hey." She smiled. "How was work?"

"Same old, same old. Couldn't wait to come home." He sighed. "Still, at least tonight will make up for it. We are still going out aren't we? You're not cancelling to go to work?"

"No, I'm not cancelling. I made a promise didn't I?" She said.

"Yeah but you've made promises before." He pointed out.

"Well, tonight I'm keeping it. I've told work not to call because I'm not going in and just to make sure, I'm leaving my phone here. Nothing is going to ruin this night." She told him.

He grinned and crushed his lips onto hers.

"Go on you, get ready." He grinned. "Bathroom's free if you want a shower, just had one myself."

"Could've waited for me." She smirked and winked at him as she left.

Rhys chuckled and watched her go. He changed and waited for Gwen in the living room.

He was counting his change when he heard her enter the room. His jaw dropped as his eyes fell on her.

She was wearing a mid-thigh, tight black dress. It had thin straps that crossed at the back and the neck line dipped low.

"Wow. You look amazing." He breathed.

She giggled as he stood up and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist.

"Thank you." She smiled.

She kissed him with as much passion as she could muster. When she pulled away, he was panting heavily.

"You sure you want to go out?" He asked.

"Yes, come on." She laughed. "Oh, before I forget."

She grabbed her phone and turned it off, then threw it on the sofa. He grinned as she looped her arm through his and pulled him out of the flat.

They were sat at a table, furthest away from the bar. Rhys sat across from Gwen, telling her some story about work. She hadn't meant to, but she found herself switching off. As she sipped her pint, she looked around the room. Her eyes fell on a young man sitting at the bar. From behind, he looked exactly like Owen. She froze as he turned to the side and she saw that it was, in fact, Owen.

"Gwen, are you ok?" Rhys asked.

She snapped her head back to look at him and flashed him a fake smile.

"I'm fine." She told him. "Sorry, what were you saying?"

"Oh, bloody Susanne. She's always moaning that..."

She blocked out his voice as she watched Owen. He was sat, chatting to some blonde girl who looked as though she'd slapped on a load of make-up to try and look older. The girl laughed at something he said and placed her hand on his arm. For some reason, Gwen's grip tightened on her glass. The girl leant over and whispered something in his ear. Gwen smirked as he seemed to decline and she walked away looking dejected.

She took a sip of her drink and continued to watch him over the top of her glass. She almost spilled it when he looked straight at her and winked. Her face flushed red as she tried to look away and focus back on what Rhys was saying. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Owen grinning smugly at her.

Downing the last of her pint, she stood up quickly.

"I'll get us another round." She said and walked off.

"But I've still got half a glass." He called but she didn't seem to hear him.

He shrugged and turned his attention to look out of the window.

Gwen stormed over to the bar and stood beside Owen. She refused to look at him as she ordered her and Rhys' drinks.

"What the hell are you doing here?" She hissed.

"I just came out for a drink at my local." He shrugged.

"Owen, you live nowhere near here." She said and turned herself to look at him. "Why are you here?"

"Why are you so worried Gwen? Afraid you won't be able to control yourself in front of the boyfriend?" He smirked.

She was about to make a remark when someone barged past Gwen and she was pressed up against Owen's chest. A few seconds passed before she swallowed and turned away quickly. She tried to hide her face with her hair but he saw the deep red tinge to her cheeks.

Gwen glanced over her shoulder at Rhys and found him staring out the window. She turned back and leant on the bar, wondering why these drinks were taking so long. Her breath hitched as Owen's hand ghosted over her arse and squeezed.

"Get off." She spat.

"I'm sorry Gwen but when you wear dresses like that, I just can't control myself." He whispered in her ear.

Her eyes betrayed her as they slid shut of their own accord. Owen shifted so he was standing directly behind her and ran his hands down her sides to her hips.

"Owen, stop it." She protested though it came out half-heartedly. "Go back to your blonde friend."

"You were watching." He grinned.

"How could I not? She was all over you, it was pathetic. I mean, how old is she?" Gwen muttered.

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy there Gwen?" He asked.

"What? No." She said quickly.

"I think you are." He laughed. "Listen, I can tell you're not having fun with him, come to mine."

"Excuse me, get your hands off my girlfriend." A voice shouted behind them.

Owen turned and Gwen quickly moved to the side to see Rhys standing there, glaring at Owen.

"Sorry mate, I was just leaning around her." Owen lied.

"Yeah right. Piss off." Rhys spat.

"Rhys, it's ok." Gwen said. "He's a friend from work. Rhys, this is Owen. He's just messing around."

"I'm up for a bit of joke with my mates but I don't go putting my hands on other people's girlfriends." He growled.

"Calm down mate, it was just a harmless joke." Owen argued.

"Don't call me mate." He spat.

"Rhys, go and sit down. I'll bring the drinks over in a minute." Gwen told him.

"It's alright Gwen. If it makes it easier I'll leave. I don't want to ruin your night." Owen said, placing his hand on her arm. "See you at work."

Gwen's eyes widened as he pecked her on the cheek.

"Hey, I said get off her." Rhys demanded.

"I'm only saying goodbye." Owen sighed.

"I've had enough of you." Rhys said.

Gwen gasped as he brought his arm back and punched Owen hard in the jaw.

"Rhys, what -" She was cut off by Owen grabbing Rhys' arm and twisted it behind his back. "Stop it, both of you." She shouted.

Rhys was slammed into the bar and people gasped as they watched the scene in front of them. Gwen looked around embarrassed. Owen let go and spun Rhys around, delivering a blow to his nose. Blood oozed from his nose as he dabbed at it. Rhys grabbed the front of Owen's jacket and shoved him back causing Owen to stumble into the table behind him. The people sitting around it shouted as he sent their drinks smashing to the floor. Owen lay sprawled on the floor. He leant up and kicked Rhys' feet from under him. He pinned the Welshman to the floor and punched him in the stomach. Rhys grunted and brought his knees up. He kicked Owen off him and pounced on him. Gwen grabbed the back of Rhys' shirt and tried to drag him off. Rhys shrugged her arm off violently, sending her stumbling back. She smacked into the bar, jolting her shoulder as she tried to stop herself. The bartender ran over and yanked Rhys off Owen. Another man pulled Owen off the floor and restrained him as he struggled to get to Rhys.

"Both of you. Out. Now. Or I'm calling the police." The bartender shouted. He turned to Gwen who was rubbing a sore shoulder. "Are you alright miss?"

"I'm fine." She nodded.

"Gwen, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to cause trouble." Owen told her.

"You stay away from me." She shouted. She turned and glared at Rhys. "And you can find somewhere else to stay tonight."

She walked off, grabbing her bag and jacket as she went.

"Gwen, wait. I'm sorry – Gwen -" Rhys shouted.

Gwen didn't turn around as she left the pub. Rhys glared at Owen before pulling himself out of the bartender's grasp and storming out.

Gwen let herself into the flat and threw her things to the floor. She picked up her phone and turned it on. There was already one missed call and a message from Rhys and a message from Owen.

Ignoring them both, she put her phone down and made her way to her room. She sighed as she flopped down onto her bed and kicked off her shoes. She knew they shouldn't have gone out.

Rolling over onto her side, she placed her hands under her head and played the whole thing over again in her mind, right from when she first spotted Owen. When she remembered the way that girl was flirting with Owen, she felt that twist in her stomach again. Why did she feel so...she hated to admit it but she couldn't deny it. Why did she feel so jealous? And why was her cheek burning from where Owen had kissed her?

Not wanting to dwell on the thought, she jumped up and quickly got ready for bed, trying to keep her mind busy.

The next morning, she was sat on the sofa cradling a cup of tea when she heard the door open. Rhys entered the room and stood in the doorway.

"Hey." She said quietly.

"Gwen, I'm really sorry about last night. I didn't mean to kick off like I did. I was just being over protective." Rhys told her.

"I know." She nodded and put her cup down. She stood up and walked over to him. "It's alright."

"But I screwed up the first night we've had together in months. Who knows when we'll get another chance." He sighed.

"Rhys, it's fine. We can go out again some other time." She insisted. "Look, let's just forget last night happened."

"Alright. So, how about tonight?" He asked.

"I can't tonight, I've got work." She answered.

"This is what I mean. You're always working late. Sometimes it feels like you're choosing to spend time at work rather than with me." He told her.

"No, it's not like that at all. I don't have a choice, this job is just so demanding. Trust me Rhys, if I had the choice, it would be you all the time." She said. "I love you."

"I love you too." He replied. "Do you have time this morning or have you got to rush off?" She looked away and shifted uncomfortably. He sighed and and shook his head. "I'll see you tonight then, or will I?"

"I don't know." She sighed. "I'm sorry."

He mumbled under his breath and walked into the kitchen to make himself a drink. She sighed and decided it was time she left for work.

As soon as she entered the Hub, Owen headed straight over to her.

"Gwen, I'm sorry. I really didn't mean to start anything." He said.

"Yes you did. You deliberately came down to that pub last night." She snapped.

"Alright, I did go down there on purpose." He admitted. "But I didn't mean to cause a fight."

"Just leave me alone Owen, I'm not interested." She said. She looked over his shoulder and frowned when she saw Tosh and Ianto standing next to some suitcases. "What's going on?"

"We're going to Spain." Owen answered.

"Excuse me, I'm not going anywhere with you." She laughed.

"No, not you and me. All of us." He told her.

"What?" She frowned.

"We got a call from the Spanish government inviting us over to investigate some strange goings on." Jack explained as he walked out of his office.

"Us? Torchwood? Don't they have their own alien fighting team? Why us, why not UNIT?" Gwen asked. "How do they even know about us?"

"Why are you complaining?" Owen asked. "It's a free holiday."

"It's not a holiday." Jack told him. "People are going missing over there and each time there's a flash of light and the sound of the victims screaming."

"Well, how long do you think we'll be gone for?" She asked.

"As long as it takes." Jack answered.

"Rhys is going to love this." She mumbled sarcastically. "Ok, when do we leave?"

"Tomorrow morning." He replied.

"Great. Just great." Gwen sighed.

As expected, Rhys did not take the news well. She'd told him that her boss was sending her away on a conference and she didn't know how long she'd be. He'd replied with the comment he'd made that morning, that she was choosing work over him. She promised she wasn't and she promised that when she got back, they'd take a holiday together to make up for all the times she'd cancelled on him.

Gwen dragged her suitcase into the Hub and placed it with the rest of her team mate's.

"Tosh, Ianto, you're with me in the first cab to the airport. Gwen, Owen, you can take the second one." Jack ordered.

"Jack, I -" Gwen tried to protest but she was silenced by Jack's glare.

He was obviously stressed about the whole thing right now.

"Is there a problem?" He asked.

"No, no problem." She answered quickly.

"Good." He said. "Come on, we'll wait outside."

Tosh and Ianto followed Jack out of the Hub, dragging their suitcases behind them, while Gwen held back to put her PDA and comms in her bag. Hands gripped her hips from behind and she rolled her eyes.

"Get off me Owen." She sighed.

"This is going to be very interesting." He whispered in her ear. "Do you realise we're going to be alone...in a foreign country..."

"Don't be stupid, the rest of the team will be there." She muttered.

"You know what I mean." He replied. "No Rhys...and Jack's booked us all separate rooms..."

"That's good then. You can stick to yours and I'll stick to mine." She said, pushing him away.

"Yeah, we'll see how long that lasts." He smirked.

Gwen grabbed her bag and hurried out of the Hub after the others. Owen chuckled as he stood with his hands on his hips, waiting. She returned seconds later, avoiding eye contact, to grab her suitcase. He followed her out with his own and joined the rest of the team in front of the water tower.

The taxi's arrived to take them to the airport and Jack, Ianto and Tosh climbed into the first one.

"See you at the airport." Jack called.

The second Gwen got into the taxi, she knew she was going to regret it. She'd sat in the back thinking Owen would sit up front but he climbed into the seat next to her. Not even five minutes into the journey and Owen's hand found it's way to her knee. She shot him a glare but didn't move it away. She didn't want to catch the driver's attention and have him think the wrong thing, though he probably thought the wrong thing already. Owen grinned smugly as he squeezed gently. She let out the smallest of gasps when his fingers brushed her inner thigh. Gritting her teeth, she closed her eyes and prayed they'd get there soon.

By the time they reached the airport, Gwen's face was flushed and her heart was pounding.

"Hey Gwen, we've got a long flight ahead of us too." Owen smirked.

As soon as they got on the plane, Gwen took a window seat and dragged Toshiko to sit next to her.

"Gwen, are you ok?" Tosh asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She answered.

Owen walked past and winked at Gwen. He took one of the aisle seats with Jack and Ianto. She relaxed into her chair and took a deep breath. The taxi ride she could handle – just, but a plane journey, that would have been too much. She made up her mind that once they reached Spain, she'd avoid being alone with Owen as much as possible.

Before she knew it, she'd fallen asleep in her seat. It had been an early start for them all and she was exhausted.

She didn't know how long she'd been asleep for, but when she woke up, Tosh was gone and Owen was sat in her place watching her. He seemed embarrassed at being caught staring at her as he cleared his throat and looked away.

"Sorry." He mumbled. "I didn't wake you did I?"

"No." She answered sleepily. "Please Owen, don't start anything."

"I'm not don't worry." He told her. She looked at him in surprise. "Don't think it's going to apply to the whole trip though."

Gwen rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Where's Tosh?" She asked.

"Queuing for the toilet." He replied. "Gwen, I really am sorry about what happened, I was being stupid."

"Yeah, you were." She nodded. "But...I know I shouldn't, but I forgive you."

"Thanks." He smiled. "Is everything ok between you and Rhys?" She looked sadly down at her hands in her lap. "Come on, talk to me."

"I don't know." She admitted. "He thinks I'm choosing my job over him all the time. I tried to tell him it wasn't true – I didn't think it was."

"But now?" He asked.

"Well...maybe it is true and I just didn't realise it." She told him. "This job, it's like a whole new life for me, an exciting one. A completely mad, totally frustrating but bloody brilliant one. At the end of the day, I want to go home and be able to talk about it but I can't. Rhys asks me how my day was and all I can say is 'it was alright'. I'm sick of lying to him too. That's why I think I jump at the chance to come to work. The less time I spend at home, the less time I spend having to lie to Rhys."

She felt a little better after letting it all out. It was like a little weight had been taken off her shoulders.

"I don't want to sound cruel but maybe you should let Rhys go. Like you said, there's too many lies. It's just not fair on either of you." He said.

She snapped her head up to look at him and she was about to protest. Instead she shook her head and sighed, looking back at her hands.

"Maybe you're right." She mumbled.

He reached over and took her hand in his. Both of them felt a sudden jolt of electricity as their skin made contact. Owen dropped her hand quickly and was glad when he spotted Tosh making her way back to her seat.

"Tosh." He said as he stood up to give her seat back.

She smiled and sat back next to Gwen. Owen stood for a few seconds, his eyes locked with Gwen's, before turning away.

"Owen." Gwen called. When he turned back, she smiled at him. "Thank you."

He gave her a quick smile before sitting back in his seat.

"What was all that about?" Tosh asked.

"Owen just...helped me figure something out." She answered.

"Owen helped you out?" Tosh laughed. "He usually gets on your nerves."

Gwen looked over Tosh's shoulder at Owen and smiled.

"He's not so bad." She said quietly.

Once they'd landed in Spain, they were greeted by a handful of government representatives. Jack shook the hand of the man in charge.

"I am Alfredo. We are glad you could come on such short notice." He said in his Spanish accent.

"Captain Jack Harkness, and it's our pleasure. We'll put a stop to the disappearances as soon as possible, I promise you." Jack told him.

"We have faith in you and your team." He replied. "Now please, you have had a long flight. You will stay in one of the best hotels we have to offer. Please rest before you start your investigations."

"Thank you." Jack smiled.

They were driven to the hotel in fancy government cars with armed guards protecting them.

As soon as they reached the hotel, they were handed over to the manager.

"Welcome." He beamed. He gestured to two of the staff who came hurrying over. "Take our guests' luggage up to their rooms." They nodded and walked away, heaving the suitcases behind them. "Please, let me take you on a tour."

He took them outside to where a huge blue pool lay in the ground. People were sunbathing around it while others splashed around in the pool. There was a small cocktail bar in the shade.

"Do you think Jack will let us enjoy the facilities while we're here?" Gwen whispered to Toshiko.

"Not likely." She sighed, staring longingly at the pool as they walked away.

They went inside to a room with an inside pool. There were less people in here as most of them were outside enjoying the sun.

"This is our inside pool." The manager said. "It's heated and open until five in the evening but for you, it's open any time." He led them out and showed them the bar, the lounge area and the restaurant. "I will now take you to your rooms."

They were taken up to the top floor where the five biggest rooms were. There were three on one side and two on the other with an elevator on the side with the two rooms. Each room had an ensuite bath and shower room the same size as the rooms themselves. They had an amazing view of the city through large windows.

"Very nice." Ianto nodded.

The manager smiled and left them to get settled in.

"Alright, pick a room guys." Jack said.

Gwen took the room furthest down the corridor on the side with the elevator while Owen grabbed the one beside it. Tosh, Ianto and Jack took the rooms opposite.

Once they'd unpacked their bags, they met up in the corridor.

"So what's our first job?" Gwen sighed.

"Go, have fun." Jack said.

"What?" Tosh frowned.

"You heard what the man said. We've had a long journey so relax." Jack grinned. "Don't get too drunk though, early start tomorrow."

Tosh and Gwen grinned at each other, knowing exactly where they were going first. They ran into their rooms to change into the outfits they'd packed in the hope of Jack letting them have free time.

Minutes later, Gwen stepped out of her room in a black bikini with a surong wrapped around her waist. Toshiko was a little more self conscious and wore shorts with a vest top. Both women had flip flops and sunglasses resting on their heads.

Owen's door opened as they walked past and he stepped out. He wolf whistled at them causing Tosh to blush a deep shade of red. Gwen rolled her eyes and ignored him as she pressed the button for the elevator. The Owen she'd spoken to on the plane was gone then.

"Mind if I join you ladies?" He asked.

"No, of course not." Tosh answered.

The elevator arrived and as they entered, Gwen felt Owen's hand graze her arse. She raised an eyebrow at him as she looked at him over her shoulder. She couldn't hold back the smirk as his eyes wandered over her. Their eyes met and a flash of something very familiar appeared in them.

They only just remembered Toshiko was standing with them. Gwen looked away quickly, feeling herself blushing.

Once by the pool, they grabbed three spare sun loungers in the shade. Gwen slid her sunglasses down and lay back, noting Owen's eyes on her once again.

"I tell you what, I'll get us all a drink." He said quickly.

"You might want to ask for some ice in yours Owen." Gwen smirked. "You're looking a little hot and bothered already."

"You're looking a bit hot there yourself." He grinned.

As he left, Toshiko looked between the two suspiciously. The Welshwoman smiled innocently at her.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

"Gwen Cooper, you're flirting with Owen." Tosh said.

"I'm not." She denied. "It's just harmless banter."

"You are. You're so flirting." Tosh laughed as she noticed Gwen's attention turn to a certain person by the cocktail bar.

"So what if I am? What's wrong with that?" She shrugged, a small smile on her lips.

"You have a boyfriend." She answered. Gwen's face dropped as she remembered. They'd been here all of five minutes and she'd already forgotten Rhys. "I take it things aren't going so well with him."

"Honestly...no." She sighed. "Do you remember on my first day, I asked if you were seeing anyone?"

"Vaguely yes." Tosh nodded.

"You said you didn't have time with this job. You were right. There's just no way to balance out a relationship with Torchwood. We're on call constantly if there's an emergency, I can't plan things with Rhys because it always gets interrupted." Gwen explained.

"So what are you going to do?" Tosh asked.

"I'm going to do the best thing for both of us. I'm...letting him go." She answered.

"Gwen I'm so sorry." Tosh whispered.

She pulled the other woman into a comforting hug and rubbed her back.

"Thanks Tosh, but it'll be ok...I think." She replied. "No, it won't. I love him Tosh but I can't keep lying to him. It's not fair. I have to let him go."

She refused to let the tears she felt building up fall. Putting on a fake smile, she pulled away from Tosh and sat back in her lounger.

Tosh looked over at Owen and smiled before looking back at Gwen.

"Owen's staring at you." She giggled.

Gwen glanced at Owen and raised an eyebrow.

"Take a good look Mr Harper." She said.

"Gwen." Tosh gasped before collapsing into giggles.

A tanned, muscular, brown haired man sat beside Gwen and smiled.

"I don't recall seeing you around here." He said.

"We're here on business." Gwen told him. "What about you? That's not a Spanish accent is it?"

"No, I've come from London. I'm actually planning on moving here to start my own business." He explained. "I'm building my own hotel and spa so I've come to check out the competition."

"Lovely." Gwen nodded.

"Sorry, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Paul." He smiled, holding out his hand.

"Gwen and this is Toshiko." She replied and went to shake his hand.

Instead he grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to." He said quickly.

"It's fine." She smiled.

"You're just...very beautiful." He told her. "Listen, would you like to come out for a drink with me tonight?"

"Oh, I'm sorry I can't. I have to get up early tomorrow." She said.

"That's ok, we can stick to the hotel bar." He shrugged.

"Sorry, it's still a no." Gwen smiled.

"Ok. I'll see you around." He said before walking away.

Gwen laughed and shook her head as they watched him leave. Toshiko glanced over at Owen and raised her eyebrow.

"Someone's jealous." She said.

Gwen looked over and laughed as they saw Owen watching Paul, his face a deep shade of red.

Owen watched Gwen from the cocktail bar. His eyes ran down those creamy white legs of hers, the surong inching up them when she moved. Tosh smiled at him, then back at Gwen. Were they talking about him? What were they saying? Toshiko was laughing at something and Gwen soon joined in.

He gripped the edge of the bar tightly as he watched her chest rising and falling quickly in that revealing bikini of hers.

He froze as some guy sat next to Gwen. Owen gritted his teeth as he watched the stranger kiss her and flirt with her. Who did this guy think he was? He had no right to flirt with her, she was taken. He had to remind himself that it wasn't him Gwen was with. It wasn't his job to get jealous or protective of her. But no matter how much he tried to tell himself that, he couldn't help but feel it anyway.

He glared at this idiot as he walked away, casting shifty looks at Gwen. He looked back at Gwen and watched as she spoke to Tosh.

"Your drinks Señor." The bartender said.

Owen looked away from her quickly and paid the bartender with the money he'd had changed over. Luckily, the drinks were on a tray so he didn't have to juggle with the three glasses. However, when he picked the tray up, he found his hands were shaking and it took a lot of effort to not spill them.

He carried them over to the girls and handed them their drinks. They were both trying to stifle giggles as they looked at him.

"Something funny?" He asked as he sat down on the other side of Gwen.

"No, no." Gwen answered. "Nothing at all. Just admiring the view. Anything taken your fancy yet Owen?"

Tosh snorted into her drink and almost spat out the mouthful she'd just taken. Gwen laughed at her before regaining her composure. Owen frowned at them in confusion and decided he didn't want to know.

"So who was that?" Owen asked.

"His name's Paul, he asked Gwen out for a drink." Tosh said in a tell-tale voice.

"Oh – oh really and erm...what did you say?" He asked, trying not to sound too obvious.

"I said no." Gwen answered.

"Oh right." Owen nodded. "He's not your type anyway."

"And what is my type?" Gwen smirked.

"Well, I – I don't know but I just don't imagine you with a guy like him." Owen babbled.

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy Owen?" She smiled.

"No, no of course not. Why would I be jealous?" He laughed.

Gwen and Tosh giggled as they glanced at each other.

Once she'd settled down, Tosh pulled out her phone from her shorts pocket and text Gwen. Since Gwen didn't have pockets, she'd hidden her phone in her bra. Owen forced himself to look away when she reached for it.

"_In all seriousness though,  
>don't let anything happen<br>until you've sorted things out  
>with Rhys."<em>

Gwen nodded at Toshiko and put her phone away, deciding not to point out that it was a little late for that. Tosh didn't need to know the details of her affair with him.

The three of them lay in the sun, basking in it's warmth. It was nice to be out in the sun rather than drizzly, dull Cardiff.

"I think I've had enough sun now. I'm going up to my room." Tosh announced.

"Alright Tosh, see you soon." Gwen smiled.

"Laters." Owen nodded.

As Tosh stood up, Owen saw her mouth something to Gwen. He wasn't a hundred percent sure but it looked like she'd said 'behave'. Gwen just smiled as she left.

They were left in silence but it wasn't uncomfortable. Gwen sighed and draped an arm above her head and placed her other hand on her stomach.

A few minutes later, her head tilted towards him. He couldn't see her eyes through her sunglasses, but he was pretty sure she'd fallen asleep. Her breathing was slow and even and she lay still.

Unknown to him, Gwen's eyes were in fact open. She tried as best as she could to act like she was asleep as she watched him. He'd taken off his shirt and her eyes were fixed on his bare chest. She remembered the feel of his skin under her fingers and lips and she desperately wanted to feel it again.

Her heart fluttered as she noticed he wasn't staring back at her with hunger but with a warmth she felt seeping through her entire body.

People started disappearing back to their rooms as the sun started to set and soon there was just a handful of people including them. She saw him glance around before sitting up and leaning towards her. Gwen tried to keep her breathing even as her heart began to pound. His lips were slowly moving towards her.

When they were inches from her own, she couldn't help but gasp and part her lips.

Owen froze as he realised she was awake. He waited for her to push him away or slap him. When neither came, he leant in further until their lips brushed. She turned her face away quickly and sat up.

"I'm sorry, I can't." She mumbled, climbing out of her chair. She took off her sunglasses as she stared into his eyes. Gwen fought to walk away but she couldn't. Instead she found herself bending down to kiss his cheek. Her lips lingered and both their eyes closed. "Goodnight Owen." She whispered.

Before he could say or do anything, she was gone.

He slowly made his way to back to his room. His eyes fell on Gwen's door as he reached his own.

Sighing, he let himself into his room and took a cold shower.

Jack woke them up early the next morning, banging on their doors and calling to each of them.

"Come on. Up." He shouted. They all groaned as they dragged themselves out of bed and got ready. Jack was waiting for them in the corridor once they'd pulled themselves together. "Ok, so today we're going to each of the sites where people disappeared to look for any signs of rift activity or left over energy sources."

"I didn't know the rift spread out this far." Ianto said.

"Neither did I." Jack replied. "But apparently there is a rift above Spain. It's not as active as it is in Cardiff but there are still small fluctuations."

"I have my portable rift monitor with me so I can check it once we get to the sites." Tosh told him.

Jack nodded at her and turned around.

"Ok, let's go." He said.

Gwen glanced at Owen and gave him a small smile as his eyes met hers. He turned away quickly and followed Jack. Ianto went ahead to catch up with Jack while Tosh and Gwen brought up the rear.

As they stepped out of the hotel, Tosh nudged Gwen.

"So what happened when I left?" Tosh asked.

"Nothing much." Gwen answered. "Apart from...we almost kissed. It was very...close."

"How close?" She asked. "Close as in, staring into each other's eyes and feeling the urge to kiss him or close as in...practically nose to nose."

"The last one." She replied. Tosh's eyes widened and she gasped. "I stopped it before anything happened though. I sort of...kissed his cheek instead."

"You can't let it go any further until you've broken things off with Rhys." Tosh told her firmly.

"I know." Gwen sighed. "It's just so hard. I just get this feeling whenever Owen's around."

"You're in love with him." Tosh smiled.

"Don't be silly. I'm not in love with him. Ok, I may have small feelings for him but that's it. Well...ok I might have a teeny crush on him – but nothing more." She babbled. "I am most definitely not..." She looked over at Owen. He felt her looking and glanced back at her, shooting her a smile that made her heart melt. "Most definitely...in love with him."

Gwen clapped a hand over her mouth and stared wide-eyed at Tosh. The other woman grinned and hooked her arm through Gwen's. After a while, Gwen lowered her hand and let out a small giggle.

When they arrived at the first site in a secluded area behind some small villas, Tosh scanned the area for energy readings.

"Gwen, take pictures of those markings so Tosh can run them through her laptop when we get back. Owen, Ianto, the witnesses are staying in some of those villas, go question them." Jack ordered.

"Erm...yeah, I don't speak Spanish." Owen said.

"Don't worry, I can translate. I taught myself Spanish when I was younger." Ianto told him.

The team set off to do their separate jobs.

Gwen crouched over the strange markings on the floor and examined them with interest. The lines of each swirl seemed elegant and intricate as if someone had taken their time to carve them into the ground. She traced each one with her finger before taking her phone out and getting the camera ready. She took close-ups of each of the markings and shots of the whole thing from above and at different angles.

"No unusual energy readings." Tosh announced.

"We're either too late for there to be any traces left or there just simply wasn't any. We'll find out when we visit the most recent spots." Jack said.

Owen and Ianto returned to report what they'd found out.

"The witnesses say they never saw the actual victim due to them being out of sight." Ianto told them.

"So how do they know for sure that someone was taken?" Gwen frowned.

"They said a flash of white light lit up the whole area and they heard blood curdling screams. Someone was screaming for their lives and begging to be left alone. They rushed out to see what was happening but there was nothing here except those markings when they got here. The next day, someone was reported missing so it's assumed that's who was taken." Owen explained.

"Alright, let's move on to the next site. Maybe we'll have better luck there." Jack sighed.

The next few sites came up with similar results. They'd spent most of the day going around Spain finding nothing and they were starting to get fed up.

The last one however, did give them something.

They were in another secluded area, this time in a public garden.

"Jack, we're getting a low energy trace." Tosh told him.

"Record it so we can take it back to the hotel." Jack said. Gwen frowned as she looked over the markings in the grass. Jack joined her to see if she'd found anything. "What is it?"

"These markings, they look...unfinished." She frowned.

"How do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, the others had complicated and intricate designs but this one, look." She knelt down and pointed to where one of the swirls stopped. "This one just stops and there's a sort of scribble. It's like, you know when you're writing something and someone nudges you or makes you jump and you lose control of the pen, it's like that."

"So what are you saying?" He enquired.

"I think they were disturbed before they could finish these marks." She answered.

"You're right." A voice said behind them. They turned to see Owen and Ianto standing a few feet away. "Whoever made them was disturbed." Owen told them.

"And they didn't manage to take away the victim." Ianto added.

Jack folded his arms and looked at them in interest.

"The story's the same as the rest except this time, there was a man walking his dog just as the screams started." Owen said.

"Yes, he ran towards this spot when he heard them but he couldn't see anything due to the light. All he saw was a silhouette in the centre and it was this shadow that seemed to be screaming. He said he ran over to them, the light vanished and the victim fell to the floor in silence." Ianto explained.

"Well let's go ask them what they saw." Jack nodded.

"That's not going to work." Ianto said quickly.

"Why not?" He frowned.

"We've already tried to speak to her. She's eighteen years old, lives with her parents and her name's Carolina. The man walking his dog knew the girl and her parents so he took her back to them. This happened over a week ago but ever since, all she's done is sit staring into space. She won't speak to anyone, she won't look at anyone and when we saw her, she was trembling. Her face is covered in cuts and bruises and her arms were scratched." Owen answered. "Whatever happened here's traumatised the poor girl."

"Well then apart from the energy readings and the marks, we've got nothing." Gwen said.

"We do know one thing." Jack disagreed.

"What?" Gwen asked.

"What have all the cases got in common apart from the obvious?" Jack asked.

Ianto, Owen and Gwen looked at each other and shook their heads.

Then something hit Ianto and he looked back at Jack.

"All the victims were alone and the kidnappings all happened in places where they were less likely to be seen or disturbed." He answered.

"Exactly." Jack nodded. "Except this one wasn't as successful. My guess is whoever did this is going to be mad. Next time they strike, it's going to be big."

"Then we need to stop it before it happens again." Gwen said.

"Ok, back to the hotel to examine what we've got." Jack ordered.

They gathered in Tosh's room where she pulled out her laptop and scanned the images Gwen had taken.

"The programme's found a hundred possible matches. I can try and narrow it down but it'll take some time." Tosh sighed.

"Do what you can." Jack said. "But it's been a long day, leave it for now. Let's get something to eat and turn in for the night."

As they sat around the table in the hotels restaurant, Owen grabbed the chair next to Gwen and shot her a mischievous grin. Her eyes widened and she shook her head, looking at the rest of the team before looking back at him. His grin grew wider and he wriggled his eyebrows. Surely he wasn't going to try anything with the rest of the team right in front of them. She glanced pleadingly at Toshiko who just grinned and winked at her. Sighing in defeat, she told Jack what she wanted so he could order their meals together.

Owen's hand found it's way to her knee and he dragged a finger up her thigh, pulling away just before he reached the top. She tried to keep her face neutral so the team wouldn't see what was going on. He did it again, pressing his finger harder and moving slower. Once he'd moved his hand away, she crossed her legs quickly. His hand shot out when he saw what she was doing and it ended up sandwiched between her legs. She blushed and uncrossed them quickly as he smirked at her.

Thankfully their meal arrived meaning his hands were kept too busy to torment her.

As soon as they'd finished, she expected him to start again. She was surprised when he didn't. Instead, he stretched his arm across the back of her chair. To anyone else, it would just look like he was resting his arm on it. Owen placed his hand on her back and gently rubbed circles with his thumb. She looked at him and he stared back, that warmth she'd seen in his eyes once before was back again. He glanced between her eyes and her lips, as if fighting the urge to kiss her in front of everyone.

All she wanted to do was lean into his shoulder and feel that arm wrapped around her but she knew she couldn't. She shifted slightly closer to him and he seemed to understand her gesture as he gave her a small smile.

"So what do we do now?" Ianto asked, breaking the moment.

"There's not much we can do but wait until we get answers from those photos and work out where that energy came from." Jack answered.

"How do we stop it from happening again until then?" Tosh asked.

"Well, the best we can do is set the laptop up to scan for any energy build ups. When we pick one up, we head over there and pray we get there in time." He told her. "It's getting late, we should head on up now."

Tosh, Jack and Ianto stood up to leave but Gwen and Owen stayed seated at the table. Jack and Ianto left as Tosh turned back to them.

"Are you coming?" She asked.

Gwen glanced at Owen then at Tosh.

"I'll be up in a minute, I just want to get some fresh air before I go to bed. Clear my head a bit." Gwen smiled.

"Alright, see you in the morning." Tosh smiled back. "Night Owen."

"Night Tosh." Owen nodded.

As Tosh left, Gwen stood up and stepped outside to the outdoor pool area. Owen followed her and leant against the low wall to look out over the city. The sun had set and the lights cast the city in their warm glow.

"It's beautiful isn't it." Gwen sighed.

Owen looked at Gwen and smiled.

"Yes you are." He whispered. She snapped her head to look at him in shock. "I mean – yes it's beautiful – _it's_ beautiful."

She laughed and turned back to look out at the view.

"You know, you always keep me on my toes." She smiled.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"One minute you've got your hands all over me, only wanting one thing and then the next...you can be so sweet when you want to be." She told him.

"Well at least it's never boring." He joked.

"No, you could never be boring." She said.

"Unlike...Rhys..." He said.

"Rhys is...oh God, I was meant to call him last night. Oh shit." She gasped. "I should call him."

"Gwen, it's late. He's probably asleep already. Just leave it until tomorrow. I'm sure he'll be fine for one more night." Owen told her.

"I know but I promised. It's going to be another broken promise he adds to the list and he's just going to be so -"

Gwen was interrupted in her ramble by Owen's hand gripping her arm. She stared down at it before looking up into his eyes.

"He'll be fine." He said.

"Yeah." She nodded. "I'll...leave it until tomorrow. But I have to call him soon." Owen nodded and put his arm around her as she sighed and rubbed her face with her hands. She leant into him, her breath hitching as she looked up and realized how close they were. "Owen..." She whispered, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Owen crushed his lips onto Gwen's and tangled his hand into her hair. He brought his other hand to the small of her back and pulled her into him. She kissed him back with as much passion as she could. Her skin was tingling as it felt like she was on fire. Each caress of his hand fuelled that fire and she was soon gasping for air. She locked her fingers into his hair, keeping him from moving anywhere – not that he wanted to. He pushed her up against the wall and went to lift her up onto it.

"Gwen." A very familiar voice gasped.

Gwen broke away from Owen quickly and stared wide-eyed at Brenda, Rhys' mum. She pushed Owen away and walked over to her, smiling nervously.

"Brenda, what are you doing here?" She asked, the panic clear in her voice.

"Barry and I are on holiday. We've just been sight seeing." She answered shortly. "And what do you think you're doing here? Does Rhys know you're here with this man? Oh I always knew you were never good enough for my son."

Barry joined Brenda's side and looked at Gwen in surprise.

"Gwen! We never expected to see you..." His eyes fell on Owen standing a few feet behind her, his hair ruffled. He turned to his wife and saw her glaring at them. "What's going on?"

"I've just stumbled upon our dearest son's girlfriend being unfaithful with this man." Brenda spat.

"Is this true?" He demanded.

Gwen didn't know what to say. How could she explain the passionate embrace Brenda had caught them in? There was no way of persuading her that's not what happened.

"Come on Barry, we're calling Rhys." Brenda said, pulling him into the hotel.

"No Brenda – please don't." Gwen begged. "Please – let me speak to him."

"So you can lie to him and try to buy your way out of it. I don't think so." She snapped. "It's lucky we're going home tomorrow so we can go to our son and comfort his broken heart."

As they stormed inside, Gwen burst into tears.

Owen hadn't heard the conversation but he knew it hadn't gone well. He walked over to Gwen and put his arms around her.

"I'm guessing you knew them." Owen said.

"Yeah...they're Rhys' parents." She whispered.

"Shit." He sighed as she sobbed into his chest. "Gwen, I'm sorry. I didn't know. If I did, I wouldn't have -"

"It's not your fault." She told him. "I should never have..." She pulled out of his arms and looked away. "I need to be alone."

Owen watched as she walked away before turning back to the wall and leaning on it. He held his face in his hands and let his eyes close.

Gwen lay down on her bed and curled into a ball. Her sobs filled the silence of the room. Her phone started to ring, a thing she'd dreaded as she knew exactly who it would be and what was going to happen when she answered it. She sat up and reached for it. She lifted the phone to her ear and answered it.

"What the hell's going on Gwen?" Rhys shouted from the other end. "You tell me you're going away on some works thing and I get a phone call from my mum saying she saw you snogging some bloke. You don't phone, you don't even text and now I know why."

"Rhys, it wasn't like that." She said. "I never meant to -"

"Never meant to get caught?" He asked.

"No." She gasped.

"Just answer me this Gwen, are you really on a work trip? Tell me the truth, for once." He demanded.

"Yes. I swear to you, I'm here on business." She answered. "I never meant for anything to happen."

"My mum saw you Gwen, she said it didn't look like work you were doing from where she was standing." He argued.

"I swear, it's the truth. I'm here on work, nothing else." She told him.

"It's him isn't it?" Rhys realised. "That tosser from the bar. You said you knew him from work. You were snogging him weren't you?" Gwen closed her eyes as fresh tears rolled down her cheek. "Answer me Gwen."

"Yes." She whispered. "Yes, it was him."

There was silence on the other end of the phone. She wondered if he was debating whether to hang up or not.

"You know, I thought my mum had been mistaken. Thought she'd probably seen someone that looked like you or misread the situation. I hoped to God she was wrong." He said. She could tell he was crying and it made her feel twice as bad. "I never thought you'd do something like this to me."

"I didn't plan for any of this to happen." She argued. "I never wanted to hurt you. Things just...got out of hand. I wasn't thinking straight. I -"

"When you get back, I won't be here. I'll leave my key behind." He interrupted.

"Rhys please -" She begged but it was too late, he'd already hung up.

She collapsed back onto the bed, shaking with fresh tears.

Someone knocked on the door but she ignored it, thinking they'd go away if they thought she wasn't there. The door opened and someone stepped into the room.

"Gwen, I've just seen Owen. He -" Tosh froze when she saw Gwen on the bed. "Oh God it's true. I'm so sorry." Tosh sat on the bed beside her and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Did...did he call?" Gwen nodded as she sat up and hugged her knees to her chest. "What did he say?"

"It's over Tosh." She whispered. "He said he wouldn't be there when I got back. I never wanted it to end like this between us."

"I know you didn't." Tosh said gently.

"I didn't mean to kiss Owen either." She said.

"I know." Tosh nodded.

"It was just...we were looking out at the city just...messing around. It all looked so beautiful and he was being so sweet." Gwen explained. "I got caught up in the moment and he kissed me and...I couldn't stop myself. I was going to wait. Wait until I'd broken things off with Rhys before I ever did anything with Owen."

"It was just a kiss." Tosh said.

Gwen looked at her friend and decided to tell her the truth.

"Tosh...I slept with him." She said quietly.

"What? When?" Tosh gasped.

"After we got back from that village out in Brecon." She answered. "And...a few times after that." Tosh sat, stunned for a few moments. "I was going to stop it, call the whole thing off because I didn't want Rhys to get hurt."

"Well...I...I don't agree with what happened but...I know you. I know you weren't deliberately trying to hurt anyone. This isn't your fault and it's not Owen's either. What happened...it's just fate."

"I didn't know you believed in all that destiny stuff." Gwen smiled weakly.

"I didn't." Tosh replied. "Until I saw you and Owen together. Look Gwen, things might seem bad now but they'll get better. Give Rhys a chance to calm down and he'll speak to you when he's ready."

"Do you think so?" She asked hopefully.

"Yes." Tosh smiled. "Do you think you'll be ok now?"

"I think so." Gwen nodded.

"Good. Is it ok if I let Owen know? He was pacing outside in the corridor when I saw him. You should see how worried he is about you." Tosh told her.

"Ok but...tell him I need some time alone. I just think it'll be too awkward if I see him now." Gwen said.

Tosh nodded and left the room. Gwen could just about hear their voices in the hallway but she couldn't work out what they were saying. Tosh's door closed across the hallway and she heard footsteps outside of her door. Was he going to come in despite what Tosh had told him?

A few minutes passed before he shuffled off and she heard his door close gently. She let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding and pulled herself off the bed to get changed.

Before getting back into bed, she opened her window to let in some cool air. She closed her eyes as a gentle breeze blew in and around her.

She crawled back into bed and let herself fall into an uneasy sleep.

The next morning, there was nothing for them to do. Tosh still hadn't been able to narrow down the results of the markings and Jack had promised to meet with the Spanish government to report their findings. He was taking Ianto with him leaving Tosh, Gwen and Owen at the hotel.

Gwen decided to spend the day in her room, still unsure if she was ready to face Owen. She couldn't think of a reason to get changed so she left on the shorts and vest top she'd worn last night to bed.

She sat in a chair by the open window and tried reading a book but her mind wandered to that kiss last night. She'd never felt so alive from just one kiss.

She remembered the feel of his lips on hers, soft and urgent as they moved in sync with hers. His hands running through her hair, over her curves to her hips, burning paths on her skin. Every nerve ending was tingling. What if Rhys' mum hadn't have found them? Would he have lifted her onto that wall and taken things further?

When she resurfaced out of her thoughts, she realized her eyes were closed and she was breathing heavily. The book she'd been reading had been dropped to the floor and lay abandoned at her feet.

A knock sounded on the door causing her to jump. She tried to slow her breathing as she stood up.

When she opened the door, she came face to face with Owen and immediately felt her face grow hot.

"Hey. I just wanted to make sure you were ok." He said.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine thanks." She answered. They stood awkwardly at the door, Gwen not quite daring to meet his eye. "Do you...want to come in?"

"Yeah, alright then." He nodded.

She stepped aside to let him in, his scent washing over her as he walked past. Her knees almost gave way but she gritted her teeth and shut the door behind him.

He spotted the book on the floor and picked it up.

"I know, I'm messy." She giggled nervously.

"I'm not disturbing anything am I?" He asked.

"No, I couldn't get into it anyway." She told him.

She went to sit on the bed but thought better of it and stood by the window.

"How are you Gwen, seriously?" Owen asked.

"I told you, I'm fine." She sighed.

"Gwen, I know you. There's something wrong." He said, standing in front of her. She tried to look away but he put a hand under her chin and tilted her face up to his, forcing her to look up at him. "You can tell me anything you know." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before looking back at him. "Please tell me Gwen."

"I'm scared." She told him.

"About what?" He frowned.

"You." She said.

"Me?" He asked.

She pulled away and turned her back on him, it was easier to say it this way.

"So many things have changed recently. Some things have become clear. Like...how I feel about you." She whispered. She heard Owen's sharp intake of breath but she carried on. "It took a while to figure out but now I realise I'm..." She turned back to look at him, knowing he'd understand what she was trying to say. "I've never felt this way, about anyone and it scares me." Owen took a step towards her but she backed away. "Please don't Owen. Just give me some more time to...work things out."

He nodded and stepped back.

"Maybe I should go for now." He said.

"You don't have to." She told him.

"I think it's better if I do." He mumbled and went to leave. He turned in the doorway to look back at her. "You don't have to be scared you know. I love you too."

Her breath hitched as the door closed behind him. She stared at the door in shock. Half of her wanted to curl up on her bed and digest everything properly while the other half wanted to tear the door off it's hinges and kiss him with double the passion and fire of last night.

Luckily, the first half won – though only just.

Flopping down on her bed, she grabbed a pillow and buried her face underneath it. Owen had said those all important words to her and now her heart was fluttering in her ribcage. It still didn't make her any less frightened about her own feelings but it did make her wonder why she was so scared.

The sun was setting again on yet another day. Jack and Ianto had returned, she'd heard them both disappearing into Jack's room.

Tired of her mind so full of thoughts and questions, Gwen needed to empty her mind and just relax for a while. She put her bikini on underneath her clothes and grabbed a towel. She tried to be as quiet as she could as she left her room and made her way to the elevator.

However, Owen was just coming out of his door as she disappeared inside. He'd spotted her towel and figured out where she was headed. He grabbed his own and followed her.

Gwen knew that no one would be in the indoor pool at this time. It had closed for everyone else but the manager had said it was open any time for the team.

The smell of chlorine hit her as soon as she opened the door. The pool was lit by a few lights at the bottom. Apart from that, the room was in total darkness.

She shed her clothes and placed them on the floor with her towel on top. Gwen sat on the edge and dangled her feet in the water. Ripples broke the surface and spread out across the pool. She moved her legs around, watching the water gently lapping at them. Closing her eyes, she listened to the quiet splashes her legs made in the water.

There were three entrances to the indoor pool and Owen was stood outside the one furthest away from her. He was watching her through the glass in the door, her skin tinged blue from the reflection of the water. He kicked off his shoes before he entered, not wanting her to hear him. Slipping inside, he took off his shirt and jeans and stepped closer to the edge of the pool.

She hadn't noticed him yet, her eyes seemed to be closed, something he hadn't noticed while he was watching her.

He lowered himself into the pool as quietly as he could and slowly waded towards her.

Gwen's eyes opened and she spotted ripples in the water, slowly drifting towards her. Stilling her legs, she kept her eyes on them. She traced them back to the source and felt her heart start to pound as her eyes fell on Owen.

They both stayed silent as he came to a stop directly in front of her legs.

"How...how did you know I was here?" She whispered.

He said nothing as he grabbed her feet under the water and slowly moved his hands up her legs to her hips. Gwen gasped as he lowered his lips to her knee and followed his hand up. All the while, his eyes were locked with hers. Neither could tear themselves away nor did they want to.

Gwen couldn't help but drop her gaze to his bare chest and let her eyes glide down to where the water lapped at his waist. Her eyes darted back to his as she was aware of him stepping between her legs. She didn't know whether he had parted them himself or whether she had done it voluntarily and to be honest, neither did he.

He leant down again to kiss his way from her hip, up her side to her shoulder. His teeth grazed her collar bone causing her to emit a quiet moan. Tangling his hand into her hair, he gently tugged so her head was bent back. Her eyes closed as he ran a finger down her neck before clamping his lips to it. She gasped and turned her head to find his lips with hers.

However, as soon as their lips touched, he pulled away and started to walk backwards into deeper water. She whimpered at the loss of contact. As she watched him, she felt compelled to follow and stood up to walk along the edge. He stopped just as the water reached his shoulders and waited for her to sit back on the edge.

Once she did, he winked at her and held her ankles.

"Hold your breath." He whispered.

"Don't you dare Owen." She warned. He grinned mischievously and yanked at her ankles. She slid off the edge and into the water. Gasping for air as she surfaced, she rubbed the water out of her eyes. She shoved at the water and splashed Owen. "If you wanted me in the water, you should have asked. I would've got in."

"It was more fun this way." He shrugged.

She glared at him as he started to walk towards her again. He backed her up against the side of the pool and wrapped his arms tight around her waist. Her anger dissolved into desire as his eyes burned into hers. Her chest was still rising and falling quickly and he found his eyes drifting to watch. He'd lifted her slightly so the water lapped at her chest, encased in that black bikini top of hers. She ran her hands up his arms to cup his face.

"Owen." She smirked as he couldn't seem to tear his eyes away from her chest. "Look at me and I promise..." She reached around her back to the clasp keeping it fastened. When he realised what she meant, his eyes snapped back up to hers. Now she had his attention, she could say what she'd wanted to say ever since he'd entered her room that morning. "I love you."

They stared into each other's eyes before their lips met in a fiery kiss. His tongue traced her top lip and she gladly parted them for him. Their tongues clashed in a battle for dominance. Gwen submitted as Owen trailed his hand from her waist to the clasp on her bikini top.

"You did promise." He smirked.

"Really? Here?" She asked uncertainly. "I thought we were just fooling around. Anyone could walk in."

"That makes it more exciting." He whispered in her ear as he unclasped the bikini.

"Can't we take it to your room instead?" She asked, though she ran her fingers through his hair and locked them into place.

As he pushed the straps off her shoulders, he bit down on the skin at her neck. She cried out in pain mixed with pleasure. He pulled her arms from around him to pull the top off fully and threw it onto the side. His hands wandered over her bare flesh, burning her skin with an even more intensive fire than last night. She arched her back, pressing herself into his hands and clamped her eyes shut. All too soon, he pulled away. She opened her eyes to look at him.

"If that's what you want, we'll take it upstairs. It just means waiting longer." He sighed.

"No." She protested quickly and pulled him back to her. She wrapped her legs around his waist and dug her heels into the backs of his legs. "Now."

"I thought you didn't want to do it here." He breathed, running a finger from her chin, over her stomach to the waistband of her pants. Her head dropped back and her eyes closed as he hooked a finger inside. "Thought you didn't want to get caught."

"I don't care any more." She said through gritted teeth.

He ducked under the water and inched her bottoms down with his teeth. She let out a strangled cry as his teeth grazed her hip. He resurfaced with them between his teeth and wriggled his eyebrows. She would have laughed if she wasn't so wound up. She snatched them from his teeth and clamped her lips over his. He groaned into her mouth as she pressed her palm against his inner thigh and dragged it up. She wrapped her legs around his waist once again and used her feet to push his pants down. Owen slammed her back against the side and curled his fingers into her hips.

An hour later, they were floating in each other's arms, their heads resting on each other's shoulders. Gwen smiled and closed her eyes, tightening her arms around Owen's neck. He kissed her shoulder and rubbed her back in soothing circles.

"First time in a pool...amazing." He chuckled.

She giggled and pulled back slightly to look into his eyes.

"It was rather, wasn't it." She smiled. They shared a tender kiss, both grinning as they pulled away. Gwen flattened his ruffled hair down with her fingers and laughed as she ruffled it up again. "I think you look cute like that."

"You look cute all the time." He told her. "In fact you look so damn good, I just want to eat you."

She squealed as he nibbled her neck. Gwen splashed at him as she laughed. When he let go, he splashed her back, starting a water fight.

He grabbed her wrists just before she scooped up a load of water, and pulled her into him. He crushed his lips onto hers, silencing her giggles and turning them into moans. She was gasping when they pulled apart and she stared deep into his eyes.

"We should get going." She told him.

"Yeah." He nodded. "Come on."

He kept hold of her wrists as he turned around and then wrapped them around his neck from behind. She giggled as he swam with her on his back to the edge of the pool.

They climbed out and grabbed their things from the floor. Instead of getting dressed, Gwen tied her towel around herself and carried her clothes under her arm. She was too happy and still in the post-coital stage to care if anyone saw her. If she didn't care, then neither did he so he copied her.

They walked out of the pool room hand in hand. Gwen pressed the button for the elevator.

The doors slid open and Owen pulled her inside. He pressed her against the back wall and kissed down her neck and shoulders as the doors closed again. She slapped his hand away as he tugged at the towel around her. He gripped it tighter and fought against her.

"Owen." She giggled. "Stop it." He nuzzled her neck with his nose and snook his hand under her towel. "Owen, I said stop it."

"Alright." He sighed.

He pouted as he pulled away and she hit his arm playfully as she laughed at him.

The elevator doors opened again and they stepped out onto their corridor.

"Goodnight Owen." She smiled.

Gwen placed a kiss on his lips and went to walk away. He grabbed her arm and spun her back against his chest.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"Back to my room." She said.

"Stay with me tonight, please." He begged.

"Well...alright then." She nodded. "I'll be right back."

He kissed her and leant his forehead against hers.

"Be quick. Oh and we're not finished yet, so don't bother getting dressed." He told her.

"Go on." She giggled. "I'll be back in five minutes."

"I'll hold you to that." He said. "Just come in when you're ready."

She shook her head and shoved him into his room. He winked at her before disappearing inside and closing the door behind him.

She walked into her own room, a spring her step and a huge smile on her face. The clothes she held under her arm were dropped to the floor as she twirled around the room collecting clean clothes to change into in the morning.

Before leaving the room, she checked herself in the mirror. Her hair hung in damp tangles around her face. She quickly ran a brush through it knowing it would be a pain to brush in the morning if she didn't. She grinned at her reflection, her eyes glittering in the light. She spotted a pink patch of skin on her neck where Owen had bitten her and brushed her fingers over it. Yep, that was going to leave a mark in the morning. She spotted a few more and rolled her eyes. Oh well, Owen probably had a few of his own, if not, she'd make sure he did. She liked the idea of Owen marking her in this way, letting everyone know she was his.

Gwen picked up the things she'd collected and left her room.

As she stood outside Owen's door, she took a deep breath and let herself in, making sure to lock it behind her.

He was lying on the bed, his hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. He was wearing a small smile on his face and he looked as if he was deep in thought.

Owen still hadn't noticed her as she stepped up to the bed. She placed her clothes on the side and climbed onto the bed beside him.

He broke out of his thoughts when he felt the bed dip. His smile grew when he saw her. He held out his arms for her and she crawled into them.

"What were you thinking about?" She asked as she rested her head on his chest.

"You." He answered.

"What about me?" She asked.

"When you told me you were scared of how you felt about me." He said. "I started to get scared myself. It made me think you were too scared to ever admit it and that you would lock your feelings away and just ignore them. Then you said it in the pool. You told me you love me. It's just...made me the happiest man on Earth."

"Good." She smiled. "Because it's true. I do love you, so much."

Owen rolled them over so he was above her and looked into her eyes.

"I love you too." He told her.

They kissed, slow and sweet. In seconds the kiss had deepened and Gwen arched her back off the bed to get as close to him as possible. The need for oxygen broke them apart. This time when Owen reached for her towel, she didn't push him away. She kept her eyes locked with his as she moved her own hands to loosen his from around his waist. Owen slowly pulled the towel from around her to reveal every inch of her creamy skin to him. He gently kissed and caressed every part of her until she couldn't wait any longer. She kissed him hungrily and ground her hips up against his. He clenched his eyes shut as she did it again and let out a low growl. Gwen gasped as he sat up and pulled her with him. He pulled her onto his lap so she was straddling him and held her flush against his chest. She attacked his neck with her lips and teeth, biting down like he'd done.

"Now we're even." She breathed.

"Even? Or marking your territory?" He hissed as she dragged her nails down his back.

"Both." She admitted. "Just like you did to me."

"I'm not finished yet. I want to make sure -" He kissed her lips roughly, making them swell as he nipped at them with his teeth. "That everyone -" He gripped her thighs tight and squeezed, earning a loud moan from her. "Knows you're mine."

"Do it." She whispered.

He let out a primal growl as he saw her eyes, dark and clouded with desire and hunger. A look he was sure she could see in his own.

Gwen's eyes fluttered open the next morning. She was lying at the bottom of the bed with the sheets tangled around her. There was dull ache in her limbs and she smiled as she remembered what happened to cause it. She also remembered that something had woken her up.

Frowning as she tried to work out what it was, she felt something soft brush her stomach. There was her answer.

She looked down to see Owen placing gentle kisses there. Her hand felt heavy as she moved it to brush her fingers along his cheek. He smiled and looked up at her.

"Morning." He said as he crawled up to plant a kiss on her lips.

"Morning." She smiled.

"Sleep well?" He asked.

"Very." She nodded. "You?"

"Best nights sleep ever." He told her. "You know, I reckon we've got time before Jack wakes us all up."

"Oh really?" She grinned. "And what will we do in that time?"

"I wonder..." He mumbled into her neck. She giggled and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. As he kissed her lips, the door burst open. Owen covered her with his body and she turned her face away as Jack walked into the room. "Whoah! Haven't you heard of knocking? How did you even get in when the door was locked?"

"Oh please, I can get through any door." Jack told him. His eyes fell on Owen and the figure underneath him. "Oh...I didn't know you'd made friends with the locals already."

"What do you want Jack?" He demanded.

"Tosh has worked out where those markings are from. Team meeting in her room." Jack answered. "By the way, have you seen Gwen? She's not in her room."

"Erm...actually..." Owen said.

Gwen turned her head and smiled nervously at Jack from around Owen's arm.

"Hey..." She mumbled.

Jack's eyebrows almost disappeared into his hairline as he looked at the scene in front of him.

"Ok...I don't want to know." Jack said as he averted his eyes quickly. "Just join us in Tosh's room when you're ready."

He left the room quickly and shut the door behind him with a loud bang. Owen and Gwen looked at each other and burst into laughter.

"Well, I never imagined anyone finding out like that." She giggled.

"No but at least we don't have to hide now while we find ways of telling them." Owen said. "Though you're still going to have to explain the whole Rhys thing so they don't think it's just some affair."

"Well, it was to start with." Gwen replied. "By the way...Tosh knows."

"Oh, ok." He said. "Come on. Let's grab a shower and get ready before Jack drags our naked asses over there."

When Gwen and Owen joined the team an hour later, the room fell silent as Jack, Ianto and Tosh stared at them. Gwen glanced at her hand clasped in Owen's and up at him. They both smirked at each other and tried to hold back giggles.

"Ok." Jack said, breaking the silence. "Now that we're all here, Tosh what have you got for us?"

"Well...the left over energy was residual rift energy. However, when I scanned to see if anything had come through or had been taken, there was nothing." She told them. "And, here's the most interesting part. The markings."

"Why do I get the feeling you're going to tell us they're not alien?" Ianto asked.

"Because you're right." Tosh answered. "They were made by humans."

"What?" Gwen gasped. "But what about all the possible matches? Are you sure they didn't match any of them?"

"Nope. There were hundreds of similar matches but none were exactly the same. I took a closer look at the pictures that Gwen took and I zoomed into one of the markings on the concrete." She said and pulled up a picture on her laptop. "If you look, you can see where someone's carved them. The ones in the grassy areas were burnt into shape."

"But that would have taken them ages to do. Anyone could have seen them doing it." Owen frowned.

"That's why they were all in secluded areas." Jack realised.

"Exactly. These would have taken days to complete, which is why I think there was such a long gap between each kidnapping." Tosh told him.

"And the flashes? The screams?" Ianto asked.

"The flashes could have been caused by something like a floodlight or something." She answered. "Whatever's happening to the victims...I don't think we're going to find them alive."

"So there's a serial killer out there, luring innocent people to their deaths and framing aliens for the disappearances." Jack said.

"I think so." Tosh nodded gravely.

"Wait a minute though. The last marking wasn't finished, why not?" Gwen asked.

"I think Carolina stumbled upon them and surprised them. I don't think she was a deliberate target." She answered. "If Carolina saw them making those marks, she could link them to the other disappearances."

"We've got to get her to talk." Jack said. "We need to find out what happened. Gwen, you head down there, take Owen with you I guess."

Gwen rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"We're not stuck to each other like glue you know." She said.

"Hang on. When we thought the energy source was connected, you said we could wait until there was another build up and try and stop it happening. But what do we do now? How do we stop it from happening again?" Owen asked.

"We make one of us a victim." Jack answered.

"We can't do that." Tosh gasped. "It's too dangerous and besides, how are we meant to do that when we don't even know who's doing it?"

"Have you seen anyone acting odd?" He asked.

"That Paul seemed pretty strange to me." Owen mumbled.

Gwen sighed as she looked at Owen.

"He was flirting and he asked me for a drink. What's so strange about that?" She shrugged.

"I just didn't like the way he was looking at you." He mumbled.

"Just because you're jealous of him, you can't make him a suspect." She sighed.

"No, I'm not jealous." He argued. "He really was giving you shifty looks when he left."

"Fine." Jack said loudly. "We'll keep an eye on him. Gwen, when you get back from questioning Carolina, find him and try and get close to him. We'll find out if he is a suspect or not."

"I don't like this idea." Owen protested. "He was talking to Tosh too, couldn't she do it instead?"

"He only seemed interested in Gwen." Tosh told him.

"Then that settles it, Gwen's doing it." Jack said and looked at Owen. "No arguments."

Owen huffed and followed Gwen out of the hotel.

He was silent the whole way as they took a cab to Carolina's house.

"It's going to be fine, don't worry about it. Nothing's going to happen, you'll see." She reassured him, taking his hand in hers and squeezing it tight.

When they arrived outside the house, Gwen rang the doorbell and waited. A small elderly woman answered the door.

"Sí?" She said.

"Hi, sorry do you speak English at all?" Gwen asked.

"Yes." She nodded. The woman pointed at Owen and frowned. "You came before."

"Yes, we've come to see Carolina again if that's ok." Owen told her.

"She won't speak, I told you before." The woman said as she opened the door wider so they could enter. "But you can try. She is in the living room."

Gwen and Owen followed her in.

The young dark haired girl was sat on the sofa, her sparkling blue eyes staring into space.

"Hello Carolina." Gwen said gently. The girl didn't answer and she didn't look up. Gwen turned to her mother. "Is it possible to talk to her in private?"

"She'll be fine, don't worry." Owen added reassuringly.

Carolina's mother nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her. Gwen sat on the sofa next to Carolina and smiled gently.

"Carolina, I know you're scared but we need you to answer a few questions about what happened to you." She said. The young girl's eyes swivelled towards her. "You're the only one that knows what happened and we need you to tell us so we can stop it from happening to anyone else."

"Yeah, if you help us, no more innocent people are going to get hurt." Owen added.

As he stepped over to place a comforting hand on her shoulder, she flinched away and screwed her eyes shut.

"Alright Owen, back off." Gwen said quickly. She reached across for her hand. Carolina let her take it as she opened her eyes and watched Owen nervously. "It's ok sweetheart, he's not going to hurt you. Please, tell us what happened." Carolina shook her head violently as she continued to stare at Owen. "Will you tell me if he left the room?"

She hesitated before nodding. Gwen looked at Owen and signalled for him to leave the room. He nodded and did as she asked.

"I'm sorry." Carolina whispered. "Ever since...I can't even hug my own father."

"It's alright, we understand." Gwen said. "But your father won't hurt you, he just wants to help you. We all do."

"I know." She nodded. "It's just...difficult."

"Can you tell me what happened that night?" Gwen asked.

"I was coming home from a friend's house...it was dark and it was late so I took a short cut through the park. There was a flickering light so I hurried over thinking there might be a fire. Someone could have been in trouble and I didn't want to just walk away." She explained. "I saw a truck parked in the bushes with a light in the back. Then I saw a man. He was...drawing something on the floor with the fire. When he heard me he..."

She broke out into sobs and shook with fright. Gwen wrapped an arm around her shoulders and cradled her like a little child.

"It's ok. Nobody's going to hurt you, you're safe." She whispered. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

"I know I can trust you." She whispered and pulled away. "You're not losing your patience with me like everyone else, even my mother."

"Your parents are just worried about you, that's all." Gwen said. "So this man, what did he do?"

"He shouted at me, told me to get away. I was so scared I just stood there. He ran towards me and held me against his truck. He was screaming in my face, telling me he wasn't go to let me ruin his plans. He turned the lights on and then I realised what he'd been doing. I'd seen the news reports every morning on the television. I said he wouldn't get away with it so he hit me." She trembled at the memory and closed her eyes. Taking a deep breath, she carried on. "He dragged me into the bushes and he just kept hitting me. I managed to get away but I fell over into some thorns. He caught me and...he had a knife. I thought he was going to kill me, I couldn't stop screaming. But...we heard a dog. He ran away, got in his truck and left...my father's friend found me, it was his dog. He brought me home."

"The man who attacked you, did you know him?" Gwen asked.

"No." She answered, shaking her head. "But I know he wasn't from Spain. His accent was English."

Gwen froze and her eyes widened.

"What – what did he look like?" Gwen asked, trying to keep herself calm.

"He was...tall and...very strong. His hair was short and brown." Carolina answered.

"Thank you Carolina, you've been very brave." Gwen told her. "We can stop this from happening to other people. You've helped us out a lot. Thank you. How about you come with me and put your mum's mind at rest."

She stood up and held out her hand for Carolina. The young girl took it and stood up. She smiled at Gwen and let her lead her out of the room.

They joined Owen and Carolina's mother in the kitchen.

"Carolina?" Her mother gasped.

"Mamá." She smiled.

Carolina's mum ran over to her and pulled her into a hug, kissing both her cheeks.

"Thank you both for your co-operation." Gwen said. "We'll leave you two alone."

"Thank you. Thank you." Carolina's mum smiled, tears brimming in her eyes as she turned to hug Gwen. "I do not know what you said, but thank you for bringing my daughter back."

Gwen smiled and said her goodbyes before motioning to Owen. They left the house and hailed another cab back to the hotel.

"So what did you find out?" Owen asked.

"Tosh was right, aliens aren't involved this time. Someone's out there murdering innocent people." She answered.

"Did you get an identity?" He asked.

"She didn't know him but she described him. It's...it sounds like...Paul." She nodded.

"I knew it." Owen said.

"No you didn't. You just thought he was a bit dodgy and blamed him for the first thing that came to hand." She mumbled.

"Well anyway, that settles it. You're not going anywhere near him." Owen told her.

"Owen, I have to if we want to prove it's him and get him arrested." She argued.

"Fine." He said. "But if you get hurt, I swear I'll -"

"Kill him. I know." She smiled and reached up to kiss him. "You are adorable when you get protective but you can't protect me all the time, it's part of our job."

"I know." He sighed. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

"I won't." She told him.

When they returned to the hotel, they reported back to the team and Gwen told them everything Carolina had told her.

"Ok Gwen, tonight you find this Paul and you start working on him. Just to be on the safe side, one of us will observe you both and make sure you're safe."

"I'll do that." Owen said quickly.

"Actually, I think it'd be better if you stayed away. You could give the game away. Ianto will do the observing." Jack told him.

"I won't give us away." Owen protested.

"Oh yeah, and what if he kisses me? You won't come charging over and stop him?" Gwen said.

"No." Owen answered. "You won't let him though, will you?"

"If I have to..." She said.

"Which is why Ianto will watch over her." Jack interrupted. "I'll be right back. I have to report this to the government so they know what's going on."

Jack left and the rest of the team headed back to their rooms.

Owen followed Gwen into hers and closed the door behind him.

"Please Gwen, be careful." He begged.

"I will, stop worrying." She sighed. "I'm a big girl now, I know how to look after myself."

"I know you do. I also know what men like him are like." He told her. "Please, try not to let him kiss you – I know you might not have a choice but...just try. If you let him kiss you, he might try other things."

"I'll tell him I'm not that kind of girl." She smiled. "Look, I know we thought we didn't have to hide our relationship any more but I think it'd be better if we don't act like we're together in public. It could ruin the plan."

"This is going to kill me you know." He told her.

She walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders. He wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his forehead against hers.

"Well, how about this? If you behave while I'm with Paul and you don't get jealous, I promise to do whatever you want." She bargained.

"Anything?" He smirked. She nodded and grinned at him. "All I ask is that at the end of the day while all this going on, you come back to my room and stay with me. Just tell me you love me and I'll be ok."

"I'll do better than that. I'll show you." She giggled and kissed him. "I do love you."

"Love you too." He smiled.

They spent the rest of the day, sitting together on the bed in each other's arms, just talking and enjoying being together. They shared sweet kisses and the occasional caress. No matter how much they wanted to, they made sure they didn't go too far.

Jack returned later in the evening and he entered Gwen's room.

"Gwen, it's time." He said. "Ianto's in the bar already."

"Ok." She nodded. "Just give us a minute." Jack nodded and left the room. She turned to look at Owen and held his hands tight in hers. "Go to your room and wait for me. I promise I'll be back for you as soon as I can ok. I love you."

She caught his lips in a passionate kiss and ran her hands through his hair. He could feel her heart pounding against her chest and he broke away to look at her.

"Are you ok?" He asked.

"To be honest, I'm a little scared. After seeing what he did to Carolina..." She admitted.

"You'll be fine. Ianto will be there to watch over you. I'd prefer it to be me but I know he'll look after you. I promise, what happened to Carolina, will not happen to you." He reassured her. "Now...I really can't believe I'm sending my own girlfriend to go and flirt with some other guy...but it's time to be that big brave woman I know you are."

She laughed and kissed him before hesitantly leaving her room. Owen watched her go before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. He ran his hand over the bed covers, still warm from where Gwen had been sat and prayed for this whole thing to end soon.

Gwen walked into the bar, patting her hair down to cover the love bites on her neck and looked around. She spotted Ianto sitting at one of the tables and nodded slightly to him. When he nodded back, she made her way over to the bar. Her eyes fell on Paul sitting just a few feet away.

Putting on a fake smile, she walked over to him and patted his shoulder.

"Hey. Gwen, it's good to see you again." Paul grinned.

"Hey, I was wondering if you were still up for that drink?" She smiled.

"I thought you couldn't because you were working." He said.

"Oh sod work." She laughed.

"Well, alright then. What are you drinking?" He asked.

"Oh anything." She said. "I like a good drink."

Paul ordered them both a drink and turned back to her.

"So tell me about yourself Gwen." He said.

"Oh well...I've come from Cardiff, with work. I've just come out of a long-term relationship...so...yeah..." She told him. "But let's not talk about me. Come on, who are you then, really?"

She listened to him tell her about where he came from and a little bit of his background story. However, like she often used to with Rhys, she found herself switching off and just nodding along in hopefully the right places.

She was thinking about Owen and him waiting upstairs for her.

It wasn't until she felt his hand on her arm that she snapped back into the real world. He was leering at her and it really made her skin crawl but she knew she had to play along. She raised an eyebrow and smiled provocatively as she moved her hand to cover his.

"Do you fancy another drink?" He asked.

"Yeah sure." She nodded.

When he turned away, Gwen glanced over at Ianto and pulled a cringe worthy face. He shot her a small smile and gave her a thumbs up. Gwen turned back to Paul and smiled as he handed her another drink.

An hour later, they put down their empty glasses and stood up to leave.

"Well, it's been fun." Paul said.

"Yeah, it has." She replied.

"Would you like to join me for another drink tomorrow night?" He asked.

"I'd love to." She nodded, though inside she was shouting insults and cursing him for being a filthy murdering pig.

"Great." He smiled. "Would you...I could walk you back to your room if you'd like."

"No it's fine, don't worry about it. I'll see you tomorrow yeah? Say seven?" She smiled.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow." He replied.

As she went to leave, he grabbed her arm and stopped her. Ianto watched, his fists clenched, ready to spring to her defence if he needed to. Gwen saw him and shook her head slightly. She looked back at Paul and smiled through her fear. He bent down to kiss her cheek and let go of her arm. She let out the breath she'd been holding and closed her eyes. She pretended to go all shy and giggle before walking out of the room.

When she was sure Paul couldn't see her, she stopped and waited for Ianto. It gave her time to get her breathing back under control and wait for her heart to return to it's normal pace.

Ianto walked out of the bar a few minutes later and they stepped into the elevator together.

"You alright?" He asked as he looked over to see her eyes closed.

"Yeah it's just...letting him touch me like that after what he did to all those people..." She cringed. Her eyes opened and she looked determinedly into his. "We owe it to them to get this man locked up in prison for life. We owe it to Carolina."

"It got to you didn't it. Seeing her like that. I know it would disgust anyone but...it really affected you didn't it." He said.

"She was scared to even hug her own father Ianto. What he's doing, it's disgusting." She spat, angry tears threatening to fall.

He placed his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into a hug and let her cry into his chest.

The lift doors opened and Owen ran out of his room, knowing it would be Gwen. When he saw her, he froze and looked to Ianto for answers.

"What happened?" He demanded, pulling Gwen into his arms.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder.

"Nothing." Ianto answered. "It's all just...getting a bit too much for her."

"He's sick Owen." She sobbed. "A jail sentence isn't good enough. He deserves to die."

Ianto looked away sadly and walked past them to his room.

"It's alright Gwen." Owen whispered. "I promise you it'll all be ok sweetheart."

He ran his hands through her hair and rocked her gently.

Once she'd calmed down, he led her into his room and sat her down on his bed. He helped her change into the shorts and vest top she wore to bed and gently lay her down on her side.

As he slipped in behind her, he wrapped an arm around her and pressed gentle kisses to her neck. She slowly reached her hand round to grip his. He listened to her shaking breaths as she cried herself to sleep.

Gwen knew she was safe at last, here in Owen's arms and the thought helped her drift off.

Once she'd fallen into a deep sleep, Owen leant up on his arm to watch her. He brushed a hair behind her ear and stroked a finger over her pink, tear stained cheek. He hated seeing her like this and it made him feel worse to know that there was nothing he could do. He had to sit on the sidelines for this one or risk letting the team down and making them fail on their mission. All he could do was make sure he was there for Gwen at the end of the day to comfort her.

She rolled over to face him in her sleep and snuggled into him. He tightened his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. A gentle sigh escaped her lips and he watched a small smile creep onto her face.

Owen eventually drifted off beside her as he breathed in her scent.

She was alone in the dark at night. There was no one around for miles. She was in what looked like a huge area with just grass. There were no trees or bushes, there was nowhere to hide if she needed to.

Soft footsteps padded behind her and she turned quickly to find the source. Paul was coming towards her. His eyes were burning with anger and his mouth twisted into a snarl. The knife in his hand glistened in the moonlight.

Gwen tried to scream as he reached for her with his free hand but it caught in her throat and came out as a pathetic little whimper.

He grabbed her and spun her around so her back was pressed against his chest. Clamping his hand over her mouth, he raised the knife and pressed it's cold, sharp edge to her neck. She was crying silently as she prayed for someone to come and save her but there was no one. His hot breath blew across her neck and she clamped her eyes shut.

"I'm sorry Gwen but this is going to hurt." He growled in her ear.

As the end of her life drew nearer, the thought of one person entered her mind. She sobbed as she thought of never seeing him again, never feeling his soft lips on hers, his gentle touches.

"Owen I love you." She whispered as the knife was pressed harder against her skin.

She felt warm liquid begin to trickle over her neck.

"He can't save you now." Paul hissed.

Gwen managed to scream as he pulled the knife in one swift movement across her neck.

Gwen sat bolt upright in the bed and screamed. She reached across for Owen but he wasn't there.

"Owen!" She screamed in fright, desperately searching the dark room for him. "Owen where are you?"

She heard footsteps running towards her and cowered against the headboard, pulling the sheets tight up to her chest.

"Gwen, it's alright." Owen said quickly as he ran out of the bathroom. "I'm here, it's ok." He sat down next to her and she dived onto his lap and into his arms, clinging onto him tightly. "What's wrong? What happened?"

"He...he was going to kill me." She sobbed. "I couldn't get away...there was nothing I could do..."

"It's alright sweetheart. It was just a dream." He whispered as he held her tight against his chest. "No one's going to hurt you, I promise. It's just a dream."

Jack burst into the room, his gun pointed in front of him. Tosh and Ianto followed behind him, still in their nightwear and guns raised.

"What happened?" Jack demanded. "We heard Gwen screaming."

"It's alright, she just had a bad dream." Owen told them. "Everything's fine."

"Are you sure?" Jack asked.

"Yes." Gwen whispered. "It was just a nightmare, it's alright. I'm sorry for waking you all."

"It's ok." He told her, giving her a small smile. He walked over and gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze. The Captain clapped Owen on the back. "Look after her."

"I will." Owen nodded. The three team members walked out of the room, leaving him and Gwen alone. He kissed her forehead and rubbed her back. "Gwen, will you be ok on your own for a few minutes? I just want to talk to Jack."

"I'll be fine." She said. "Just...don't take too long."

"I'll be back as quick as I can." He promised. As he gently lifted her off his lap, he caught her lips in a kiss. He left the room and knocked on Jack's door. The Captain looked at him in surprise when he opened the door to him. "Jack, can I talk to you about this Paul thing?"

"Owen." Jack sighed. "I told you before, she's doing this so we can stop this guy from hurting anyone else."

"I know, I'm not here to beg you to let her stop." He told Jack. "I've been thinking, he's going to get suspicious if he sees Ianto every night watching over Gwen. What if we all take it in turns? That way he's not going to know something's going on."

"Ok, I see your point." Jack nodded. "I'm guessing you're going to ask if you can take the next turn."

"Just for tomorrow." Owen said. "She's really shaken up about this and I just think if she knows I'm there watching her, she'll be alright."

"Ok, but Ianto goes with you." Jack told him.

"That's fine." Owen nodded. "Thank you Jack."

"I know you're worried about her but she's going to be fine." Jack told him. "No one's going to hurt her while we're here." Owen nodded as he knew Jack wouldn't let anything happen to her. "Now go, I know you want to get back to her. Go...do whatever is you two do together – spare me the details." He said quickly as Owen went to say something.

Owen grinned and winked at Jack before heading back to his room. To be honest he wasn't thinking of doing anything like that with Gwen tonight. She was too upset and he didn't want to take advantage of her. It seemed however, that she had other ideas.

When he sat down on the bed, she crawled onto his lap and grinned mischievously.

"Gwen, we don't have to if you don't want to." He told her, stilling her hand as she trailed it down his chest.

"But I can't sleep, I just keep thinking about that nightmare." She pouted. "Make me forget Owen, please."

"I really don't think we should..." He hesitated.

"Owen, I'm practically giving myself to you." She sighed in frustration and crushed her lips onto his. Gwen grabbed his arms and wrapped them around her waist. When she pulled away, she pleaded with her eyes. "Please Owen. Just do this for me."

He kissed her back and lowered her gently onto the bed.

"You know I'd do anything for you." He whispered.

Half an hour later, Gwen lay back with a very satisfied smile on her face. Owen rolled onto his back breathing heavily and closed his eyes. She lay her head on his chest and drew patterns on his stomach with her finger.

"Thank you." She said quietly.

"Don't mention it." He panted. "Are you tired yet?"

"Yes." She nodded and yawned as if on cue.

"Good, because after last night and this morning, I'm finding it hard to keep up." He laughed.

She giggled and pressed lazy kisses to his chest.

"I love you." She sighed dreamily.

"Love you too." He smiled as he let his eyes drift shut.

Gwen lifted her head to watch him and smiled. Her smile disappeared as she remembered what she had to do. She placed her head back on his chest as she tried not to think about it and let herself drift off.

When the team went down for breakfast the next morning, Gwen and Owen had to pretend that they were nothing more than friends. She sat a few seats away from him next to Jack and kept glancing over at him. He sat next to Tosh and met her glances.

She froze when she saw Paul walking over to them and she'd have given anything at that moment to be able to hold Owen's hand under the table.

"Hey Gwen." Paul smiled. "You still up for our drink tonight?"

"Yeah course I am." She nodded. Then she noticed the dark circles around his eyes and how bloodshot they were. "Are you? I mean, you look exhausted. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. I just had a late night last night." He answered. The rest of the team glanced at each other and looked away quickly. "I'll see you later."

"Yes, see you later." Gwen smiled.

He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and disappeared out of the room.

Owen stabbed at a sausage as he glared after him.

"Owen." Jack warned.

"Tosh, swap places." Gwen said. Tosh nodded and got up to take Gwen's seat as Gwen sat in hers. Gwen reached under the table and placed her hand on his knee. He put his hand over hers and squeezed. "You can't act like this Owen or he'll know something's up. Just remember it's you I come back to at the end of the night. It's you I love."

"If you had to..." Owen cringed as he thought about what he was saying. "If you had to...sleep with him, would you get him to do that thing I do that you like?"

"Owen." She hissed, not wanting to discuss that over breakfast with her team mates present. "No I wouldn't...only you can do that and I wouldn't sleep with him even if I had to."

He grinned and seemed to cheer up considerably. Gwen shook her head and smiled fondly at him.

"So, what do we do today while we wait for Gwen's date tonight?" Tosh asked.

"Whatever you want. There's not much we can do. Tonight once Gwen's date is over, I'm going out to follow our friend Paul and see if I can find where he's planning on taking his new victim."

"Yeah, can you not call me that please?" Gwen asked. "It's bad enough I have to think of him as my date never mind my future murderer."

"Sorry." Jack mumbled.

"Anyway, do you mind if I go and visit Carolina? I want to see how she's doing." Gwen said.

"Fine. Just be careful Paul doesn't find out. If he sees you with her, you could both be in danger." Jack warned.

"Actually Jack...I think Carolina might already be in danger." Ianto said. "He was already angry at her for disturbing him while he was making those marks. Then he didn't successfully kill her because he was interrupted again. If he thinks Carolina is going to talk, he might try again."

"Oh God, Ianto's right." Gwen gasped.

"I'll get some police protection set up for her and her family. She'll be fine." Jack reassured them.

"She'd better be Jack." Gwen said. "We owe it to her to keep her safe."

"We will, I promise." Jack told her.

After breakfast, Gwen headed out to see Carolina. Owen wanted to go with her but she told him it would be too risky if Paul saw them. She promised she wouldn't be long and she said she'd ask for dinner to be brought up to her room so they could spend some time together.

Carolina answered the door to her and greeted her with a smile and a hug. Her father was home this time too. He'd wanted to meet the person responsible for bringing his daughter out of her trance like state and when he met Gwen, he kissed her on both her cheeks.

They sat in the kitchen, cold drinks clutched in their hands.

"So, how are you?" Gwen asked the young girl.

"I'm ok." She answered. "I still find it hard to trust any man other than my father but I am getting better."

"You'll get there." Gwen smiled. Not wanting to spoil the girl's happiness, Gwen took Carolina's parents to the side. "I don't want you to panic but while this man that attacked Carolina is still out there, we're going to arrange for your family to go under police protection. It's just a precaution, it's nothing to worry about. We just want to make sure you're all safe. We will catch this man, I promise you."

"We trust you." Her mother nodded. "You have already done so much for this family."

"This man, you seem to know who he is." Carolina's father said.

"We have a match on the description Carolina gave us." Gwen nodded. "We've got an investigation on the go at the minute."

There was no way she was going to go into details about that.

Luckily, they didn't ask any more questions so they joined Carolina again in the kitchen.

She had a few more drinks with the family before leaving and heading back to the hotel.

She was meant to be meeting Owen near the outside pool area, Ianto had seen Paul leave the hotel so it was safe. He and Jack were out following him to see if they could get any clues.

However, when she got there, she couldn't find Owen anywhere. Toshiko was lounging by the pool and Gwen made her way over to her.

"Hey Gwen, how's...your new friend?" Tosh asked, not wanting the wrong person to overhear.

"She's fine." Gwen answered. "I've explained why there'll be more people around there and they're fine with it." Gwen sat down next to her so she could whisper. "Honestly, she's doing great. The whole family is so happy to see her up and about again. Her grandmother came over this afternoon to see her."

"Oh that's brilliant." Tosh smiled.

"It is." She nodded. "Have you seen Owen? I'm meant to be meeting him here. We were going to lounge out here for a bit before we went up for dinner."

"I haven't seen him since you left." She answered. "I think he went up to his room."

"I'll have a look down here first then I'll head up." Gwen sighed.

She left Toshiko and went in through the indoor pool way. She smirked as she remembered that night. Reluctantly, she left the room and went to look in the bar.

She searched the whole bottom floor before taking the elevator upstairs to continue her search.

"Owen." She called as she knocked on his hotel room door. When she received no answer, she tried the door. It opened up and she stepped inside. "Owen, are you in here?"

The bed was still unmade, the sheets in a tangle in the middle. The clothes she'd worn to bed before they were thrown off her, were still scattered over the floor. Nothing in the room had changed from how they'd left it that morning. She walked into the bathroom but he wasn't there either.

Thinking he'd probably gone out while she was away, she went back to her own room.

She pulled out her room key but when she went to unlock it, the door was already open. She opened the door slowly and edged inside.

She gasped when she saw the room. The curtains were shut, blocking out any light from outside. The room was lit instead by scented candles dotted around. A small table had been brought up with a table cloth draped over it and two chairs, placed in the centre of the room. A candle stood in the middle with two meals either side. A bottle of wine stood in a cooler with two glasses next to it. She smiled as she took it all in.

The door clicked shut behind her and she spun around quickly.

Owen was stood behind her in a shirt and smart trousers, bought very recently she noticed as she spotted he'd forgotten to take the tag off his shirt. Like always if he ever wore a shirt, the top two buttons were undone.

Gwen ran over and pounced on him, locking her arms around his neck. His arms snaked around her waist as he kissed her.

"Do you like it?" He asked.

"Owen it's beautiful." She told him.

"I just thought, we haven't been on a date yet. Well, not you and me anyway so...I wanted to make our dinner special."

"Oh it is." She told him. "It's absolutely gorgeous. I...I suddenly feel very under dressed."

"You look perfect." He smiled.

She smiled shyly and pulled the tag off his shirt.

Owen kissed her hand and led her over to the table. He held out her chair and she sat down, giggling at the gesture. It was so unlike Owen.

He sat opposite her and poured her a glass of wine.

"You are amazing, do you know that?" She laughed.

"I do now." He said.

As they ate their meal, they cast warm smiles at each other. Owen reached a hand across the table and she copied, clasping their hands together in the middle. He ran his thumb over the back of her hand and gazed into those beautiful green eyes of hers. The light of the candle flickered in them and made them sparkle. Her features were softened and her smile took his breath away.

Gwen stared into his chocolate brown eyes and felt warmth spread through her and she was pretty certain it wasn't from the candles. She couldn't help but smile as she sighed dreamily.

Keeping her eyes locked with his, she stood up and stepped over to him. He gently pulled her to sit across his lap and hugged her tight. She cupped his face in her hand and brought his lips down to hers.

"Thank you, this..." She gestured around the room. "It's been so magical."

"It's not over yet." He told her. She looked at him questioningly and waited for him to explain. Someone knocked on the door and he gently pushed her off him to answer it. One of the hotel staff walked in to take away their plates. "Thanks." Owen nodded to him. "Miss Cooper, would you care to wait in my room while I prepare something. I shall collect you when it's ready."

She smiled in confusion but did as he'd asked her to.

A few minutes later, he came to get her and took her back to her room.

He led her into the bathroom where more candles were spread around the room. The bath was filled with hot water and scented bubble bath.

She grinned and shook her head at him.

"You are just full of surprises." She laughed. Then she sighed and drooped her shoulders. "I can't."

"Why not?" He frowned.

"Because I haven't got time." She told him.

"Gwen, you've still got a few hours yet." He said. "I wouldn't have done it otherwise."

"Yes you would." She laughed. "You'd love to make me late."

"Well...yeah, but I'm not doing it to make you late. You've got plenty of time. By the way, it'll be me and Ianto watching tonight – I've cleared it with Jack before you start." He told her. "So, get in and enjoy."

"What? You're not coming in?" She asked innocently.

"Well, I thought you could just sit back and relax." He told her.

"It looks wonderful but I'll be awfully lonely." She sighed.

"I guess...I could join you." He shrugged.

She grinned and shed her clothes. Owen went to unbutton his shirt, but she grabbed his hand and stopped him.

"Wait, I've always wanted to do that thing you see in the movies all the time. I just want to see if it's as good as they make it out to be." She said.

"What is it?" He asked.

Gwen climbed into the bath and splashed water over him. He was covered from head to foot and his shirt was slowly turning see through. She sat back and bit her bottom lip as she stared at him, the shirt clinging to his figure.

"That." She breathed.

"Erm...ok..." He said, starting to feel the cold through his wet clothes. "Can I take these of now, it's getting cold."

"Just...one more second." She said, her eyes glued to his chest. "Ok."

He peeled off his clothes, her eyes growing wider and her lip permanently stuck between her teeth. Owen joined her in the warm water and sat back against the side. The bath was big enough for them both to sit at either end and have enough space each but Owen still pulled her to sit between his legs. She scooped up some of the bubbles and gave him a beard, giggling as she did. He laughed and blobbed some of the bubbles onto her nose. She turned to face him and crushed her lips onto his. When she let go, she pushed away to sit opposite him and held his hands in hers. He smiled as he looked into her eyes.

"What have you done to me Gwen Cooper?" He asked. "You've turned my world upside-down from the moment we first met. I couldn't stop thinking about you, I hated it when you spoke about Rhys. I started getting these weird feelings whenever you were around. Then I realised I was in love with you. And now here we are, together for three days and I'm head over heels. I have never felt like this."

"I know what you mean." She smiled. "I was terrified when I realised I loved you. When you told me you loved me too...it just...made me wonder what I'd been so afraid of." Gwen sighed as she heard her phone ringing in the bedroom. "I'll be right back – don't even think about going anywhere."

"I won't." He said.

As she climbed out of the bath, she grabbed a towel to wrap around herself. She padded into the next room to answer her phone. Owen leant his head back and closed his eyes.

"Rhys?" He heard her say.

He sat up quickly and listened hard.

Gwen clutched the towel tight around her as she sat on the edge of her bed.

"Gwen, I'm sorry about what I said the other night. I've had time to think and...I was overreacting. It was just a kiss and I know you wouldn't have taken it any further."

"Rhys, I need to tell you something." She said.

Rhys didn't seem to hear her as he carried on.

"Look, when you get back, we'll go on that holiday we planned. We'll get away from work, spend some time together and start afresh. We've changed Gwen but I know we can find ourselves again once we get away from it all." He told her.

"Rhys, please listen." She insisted.

"What is it? Don't you want to be with me?" He asked, a little wounded.

"You're right, things have changed but they can't go back to how they were. If things were different, I'd say 'let's go for it, let's try', but they're not." She said. "Something's happened."

"What? What's happened?" He demanded.

"I've fallen in love." She whispered.

"Fallen in love?" He repeated.

"Yes." She replied.

"It's him isn't it? The one you were snogging. Gwen he's put this into your head." Rhys argued.

"Owen has done nothing of the sort. I love him and he loves me." She replied hotly.

"So what, are you sleeping with him?" He asked. She cleared her throat uncomfortably and he took that as a yes. "For God's sake Gwen, did you jump into bed with him the minute you got off the phone with me?"

"No, it wasn't like that." She argued.

"Well that's what it sounds like from here." He shouted.

"Owen's always been there for me. You have no idea what I go through with this job but he does. He understands how stressful it can get. He's helped me through so much already." Gwen told him.

"But why didn't you ever talk to me about it? I could have helped you but no you keep it all to yourself, you never tell me anything." He said.

"Because you wouldn't understand." Gwen told him.

"Gwen, it's just a job." Rhys snapped. "God ever since you've got this Special Ops job, you think you're so much better than everyone else. Hanging out with all your new friends. I saw Andy the other day and he said you haven't been to see your old friends since you started this job. What is it Gwen, they not good enough for you now? You lot think you're so important, thinking ordinary people like me won't understand."

Gwen had had enough. First he was having a go at her, now he was bitching about her team mates.

"Shut up Rhys." She shouted. "I don't tell you about my work because I don't want to bore you. You on the other hand insist on telling me about every single bloody argument at work because someone's bought the wrong kind of bloody paper."

"Well I'm sorry Gwen. I'm sorry for wanting to act like a couple. That's what couples do, if you didn't realise, tell each other about their day." Rhys retorted.

"I did want to hear it Rhys, but not when it's the same bloody thing over and over again." She replied. "Is it any wonder I chose not to come home sometimes?"

"You _chose_ not to come home? You mean you weren't working late every night?" He demanded.

"I love my job, but not that much. Some nights I was working late, others I spent at...a friend's house." She answered.

"A friend's house? You were with him weren't you? You were sleeping with him behind my back." He shouted.

She didn't care any more. She was just so angry, something inside her snapped.

"Yes I was." She told him. "I've been sleeping with him for weeks now and since being here we've done it in the pool, God knows how many times in his hotel room..." She was exaggerating a bit there, she knew it had only been twice, but she didn't care. "And do you want to know something? He's in my bath right now. Do you want to speak to him?"

"Right, that is it. We are definitely over now. I'm packing my stuff and getting out of here as fast as I can." He told her.

"Good." She snapped and hung up. Throwing her phone across the room, she screamed with rage. She took a deep breath before heading back into the bathroom. Owen was watching her in concern as she dropped her towel and slipped back into the bath. She bit her lip and sighed. "You heard."

"It was hard not to." He laughed. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She nodded. "I just got a little wound up. God, I'm so sorry. I've ruined our date haven't I? It was all so wonderful and I just..."

"Gwen, you haven't ruined anything." He told her.

"Yes I have." She sighed.

"No, you haven't." He insisted. "Come here, don't be silly." Owen pulled her into a hug against his chest, kissing the top of her head as he rubbed her back. "Forget about Rhys. Let's just finish enjoying our bath."

"Yeah, let's forget about Rhys." She whispered, shifting herself to get more comfortable in his arms. They ended up in their first position with her sat between his legs, his hands resting on her thighs with hers on top. She thought of everything that had happened since joining Torchwood. One memory stood out and made her smile. "Do you remember that kiss in the cold storage locker?"

"You know I do." He smirked against her neck. "I couldn't stop thinking about it and I know you couldn't either."

"Oh here we go again." She laughed. "You said something like that in the woods in Brecon. You said I'd been avoiding you ever since."

"Well it's true, you were avoiding me. You couldn't even look me in the eye." He told her. "Come on, admit it." She smiled and hung her head shyly, her hair falling in front of her face. He poked her side and she giggled. "Admit it." Gwen shook her head and laughed. He grabbed her sides and started tickling her. She squealed and tried to get away. The water sloshed over the side of the bath as she thrashed around, trying to get away from his tickling hands but his grip on her was too strong. "I'll stop if you admit it."

"Fine, fine I admit it." She giggled. "It was one of the best kisses I've had, considering we were almost killed."

He stopped tickling her and grinned triumphantly.

"I knew it." He said. "Hang on '_one_ of'? Not _the_ best?"

"No, not _the_ best." She smiled.

"So when was your best kiss then? Was it with me or with Rhys?" He asked, a little jealously.

"It's with you." She giggled.

"Oh really? Which kiss would that be? The rather steamy kiss we had before Rhys' parents interrupted? One of the many kisses in the pool?" He asked.

"Nope, though they were all very enjoyable." She answered.

"So when?" He said, poking her side again.

Gwen turned around and smiled. She wrapped her arms around his neck and brushed her nose with his.

"This one." She breathed.

She captured his lips with hers and locked a hand into his hair. It was slow and sweet and she poured all her love into it. She could feel him respond with just as much love. Her heart fluttered as his tongue traced over her lips. She parted them and entwined her tongue with his, gasping into the kiss. He held her face in his hand and ran a thumb across her cheek. They parted and brushed their noses together, eyes still closed.

"I love you." He whispered before pulling her lips back down to his. Gwen felt tears running down her face as she clung to him. He pulled away as he brushed a tear with his thumb. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." She told him. "It's far from it. I'm just so happy right now."

"Gwen, you are sweet." He said, brushing her hair from her face and wiping away her tears.

Gwen blushed and looked down.

"The bubbles have almost gone." She noticed.

Owen looked down at the water and saw that there were only small patches of bubbles here and there. He cocked an eyebrow as his eyes ran over her.

"I see you're right." He nodded.

"Get that mind of yours out of the gutter Mr Harper." She smirked.

"I would try but it's even harder to when you call me that." He told her. "Anyway, what if I don't want to?"

He reached for her but she slid out of his grasp.

"We haven't got time." She said. "Here, do my back for me, I'll do yours – that's _all_ you're getting."

Owen pouted as she handed him the soap, hoping his big brown eyes would get him what he wanted. He saw her expression waver and he thought she was going to back down but she turned her back on him.

She did let him wash her whole body though after another cute puppy dog look.

Once he'd finished, she took the soap from him and did the same, smirking as she noticed the effect it was having on him. She slowed her movements down and teased him. He gripped her wrist tightly and hissed.

"You're going to have to stop that or I won't be held responsible for my actions." He growled.

"I'm not doing anything." She said innocently.

He grabbed her hips and pulled her towards him before she had chance to get away. His other hand moved down to a very delicate spot. She gasped and her eyes widened.

"Just like I'm not?" He asked.

"Owen no, we don't -" A moan cut her off and her hands flew to his shoulders, her nails digging into the skin. "We really -"

She gave up as he moved his hand in ways she just couldn't resist. Her head fell back and her eyes clamped shut.

"Look at me Gwen." He whispered.

She fought to open her eyes as she moaned and writhed at his touch. Her green eyes had darkened and he could see a look of hunger in them. It spurred him on and soon Gwen was crying out. He watched her fall to pieces in his arms, losing the fight to keep her eyes open. Her head slumped onto his shoulder as she caught her breath.

"I told you we didn't have time." She mumbled into his shoulder.

"I told you I wasn't going to be held responsible for my actions." He replied simply.

She muttered under her breath before pulling away.

"You can wash my hair for that." She told him.

"It'll be my pleasure." He smirked, wriggling his eyebrows at the innuendo.

She made a disgusted noise in the back of her throat and shoved the shampoo bottle into his hand. However, when those nimble fingers of his ran through her hair, she relaxed instantly and he knew he was forgiven – for now at least.

Once they'd finished in the bath, they climbed out and got dressed. Ianto called to tell them that him and Jack were back at the hotel and he'd be ready to go down with them in a few minutes.

They met him at the elevator.

"You ready?" He asked Gwen.

"As I'll ever be." She sighed.

"Wait." Owen said before they stepped inside the elevator. "Just something before we go."

He held Gwen's face between his hands and crushed his lips onto hers. Ianto looked away uncomfortably and rocked on his heels. When they finally broke apart, Gwen looked a little dazed.

"Erm...thanks..." She said. "Let's – let's go...it's a bit warm in here..."

Owen winked at Ianto as they stepped inside.

Once on the bottom floor, Gwen headed straight to the bar to meet Paul. Owen went to follow but Ianto held his arm out to stop him.

"Let Gwen get in position first." He told him.

They waited for a few minutes before following her in.

When they sat down at one of the tables, Gwen was already talking with Paul. Owen gritted his teeth as he watched them together. He almost vaulted over the table when Paul put his arm around her shoulders. Ianto shot him a warning look.

"Sorry, it's hard watching some guy put his hands all over her." Owen told him.

"I know." Ianto nodded. "Can I trust you to stay in your seat while I get us drinks?"

Owen rolled his eyes as Ianto went over to the bar. He went back to watching Paul whose arm had slipped to round her waist. She was laughing, a little too hysterically to be real, at something he'd said and she flipped her hair over her shoulder. He had to slide into the seat on the opposite side of the table so his back was to them. He couldn't stand to watch them any more.

Ianto raised an eyebrow when he came back with their drinks.

"What's happening?" Owen demanded.

"Nothing. They're just talking." Ianto answered.

Gwen shifted as Paul's fingers brushed her hip.

"Get off me. Get off me." She was screaming in her head.

"Hey, aren't they the guys you work with?" Paul asked as he looked over her shoulder.

Gwen glanced at Ianto and Owen and back at Paul.

"No." She answered.

"Yes they are. I saw you with them at breakfast." Paul told her.

"Oh, those two. Yes...I do work with them." She nodded.

"They seem to follow you around a lot. I saw that one in the suit in here last night too." Paul laughed.

"Oh God, he's getting suspicious." She thought. "Actually...they are following me. You see, my boss told them to because well...since my break up with my boyfriend, I've been known to...go a little crazy. Yeah, they're here to make sure I don't get too drunk or...you know..."

"Well, your boss must care about you a lot." Paul said, retracting his hand.

"I can't lose him." She thought. "To be honest, it's getting really annoying. I'm sick of them following me around all the time. I feel like I'm being controlled. I just want some time to myself you know. Hey how about...no it's stupid."

"What?" Paul asked.

"Well...how about tomorrow night, we sneak out and go somewhere, just us." She suggested.

"Tomorrow night?" He repeated, looking away as if calculating something. Gwen trailed a finger over his chest and nodded, looking up at him through her eyelashes. "Yeah ok. Tomorrow night's fine. Anywhere in particular?"

"No. Surprise me." She answered.

"Alright, I have just the place. Remember, don't tell your boss." He grinned. She giggled and mimed zipping up her mouth. Paul glanced over her shoulder at Owen and Ianto again. "How about we give them something to report back to your boss with."

Gwen's eyes widened as he crushed his lips onto hers.

Ianto sipped his drink as he watched.

"So what's happening now?" Owen demanded.

"Well...erm..." He stammered.

"Ianto, what's going on?" He growled.

He went to turn around but Ianto grabbed his arm.

"Owen, you don't want to look." Ianto told him.

"Why not?" Owen frowned and turned before Ianto could stop him. What he saw made his stomach churn and anger started to bubble inside him. Paul had his arms wrapped around her and was kissing her hard. Her arms were wrapped around his neck which made it worse. He knew he was holding her in a way that she had no choice but to put her arms around him but it still hurt. "I so can't wait to get him locked up. I wonder if Jack will let me throw in a few punches first."

"Owen. Behave." Ianto warned, though he too looked like he wanted to throw a few punches in himself.

"I'll be right back." Paul grinned as they broke away. "Nature calls."

"Ok." Gwen smiled.

He shot her a playful wink before leaving. Gwen took a deep breath and leant forward onto the bar. Her eyes were closed so she didn't notice Owen coming to stand beside her.

"I really don't like him." He growled.

She turned her head to look at him before looking down at her drink between her hands.

"Me neither." She mumbled, shivering as she tried to forget what just happened.

"Listen, if he touches you like that and you don't want him to, just say the word and I'll pound his skull in." Owen told her.

"Owen, I can't lose him." She told him. "If this is what I have to do to keep him interested...then this is what I have to do."

"You don't like him touching you do you?" He asked.

"What? No. Owen, I feel like ripping his head off every time he does. God I had to fight the urge not to vomit down his throat." She told him.

"Yes I saw him playing tonsil tennis with you." Owen mumbled.

"Tennis requires two players and trust me, he was the only one playing just then." She replied.

"Make sure it stays that way." He said.

She gasped and shook her head at him.

"What are you trying to say about me? That I'll jump at the chance any time a man decides to kiss me?" She asked.

"Well...you did it to Rhys." He shrugged.

"I can't believe I'm hearing this." She muttered, holding her face in her hands. "I've had one argument today, don't make me have another one. We'll talk about this later."

"Gwen, I'm sorry -" He started to say.

"We'll talk later." She interrupted.

She was looking away from him, glaring at her glass so he nodded and walked away.

Paul was back at her side seconds later.

"Hey you ok? Was he bothering you?" Paul asked.

"No, no...well a little." She said truthfully. "But don't worry about it." She turned to smile at him and placed a hand on his chest. "I can't wait to get away tomorrow night."

"Me neither." He grinned. "Listen, I'm going to have to cut our date short tonight. There's something I have to finish off for tomorrow."

"Anything interesting?" She enquired innocently.

"No, just...have to talk to someone about my new hotel plans." He told her.

She could tell he was lying straight away. His eyes didn't quite meet hers.

"That's ok." She said. "I'll see you tomorrow then, about eight?"

"Yeah, sounds good." He replied.

"Goodnight." She smiled.

"Goodnight." He nodded and kissed her again.

He left the bar, in a bit of a rush she noticed.

Glancing back at Ianto, she nodded slightly and left, completely ignoring Owen. Owen sighed as they followed her out.

"We need to see Jack." She said shortly as they stood in the elevator.

"What for?" Ianto asked.

"I'll tell you when we get there." She answered.

Ianto rolled his eyes and turned to Owen, knowing he was the cause for her current mood. He smiled apologetically back and shrugged.

Gwen stepped out of the elevator and knocked on Jack's door. The Captain answered with a smile which disappeared when he noticed Gwen's sour expression.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I'm calling a team meeting." She told him.

Jack looked startled at her attitude before nodding and letting them in.

"Ianto, fetch Tosh." He said.

Once Tosh had arrived, Gwen started the meeting.

"Paul noticed Ianto and Owen sitting in the bar and he remembered seeing them from this morning when we had breakfast. I gave him some story as to why they were there – don't ask what, I'm not going through that again. Anyway, I've convinced him to take me out alone tomorrow night. I don't know where we're going but wherever it is, I assume it'll be somewhere secluded. You lot had better follow us and never let me out of your sight for one second because if he kills me, I'll come back and haunt the lot of you." She explained.

"We will." Jack nodded. "Good work by the way."

She gave him a quick smile and left the room. Owen followed her out and he half expected her to slam the door in his face when they reached her room.

He was surprised when she left it open for him. Her back was to him and her arms were folded across her chest as she looked out of the window.

"Owen, I need to know. Is that really what you think of me?" She asked.

She didn't sound angry like he'd thought she would, she sounded upset.

"No, of course not. I was just jealous. I'm really sorry. I know you'd never do anything like that." He told her.

"Good because I will never, ever be unfaithful to you." She said, turning to face him. Tears were falling down her cheeks as she walked towards him. She held his face in her hands as she looked into his eyes. "I love you so much and I would never hurt you. But to think that you think I would...that's what hurts the most. When you said that to me, it made me think that you don't trust me."

"I do trust you. Gwen, I love you too, so much. I swear I never meant for you to feel like that. Please believe me." He begged.

He placed his hands on her hips and rested his forehead against hers, his eyes closing as he waited for a response.

Minutes passed as he listened to her shaking breaths.

"I...I believe you." She whispered.

He sighed in relief as he opened his eyes and looked into hers.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yes." She nodded. As he pulled her into a hug against his chest, he buried his face in her shoulder and breathed in her scent. He felt her lips against his neck and tightened his grip on her. "Owen...can't breath." He laughed as he let her go and went to kiss her but she pulled away. "Sorry, I have to get rid of...him." She cringed and ran into the bathroom to brush her teeth and swill out her mouth. When she returned, she held her hands out for Owen to take and pulled him towards her. "Come here you."

He smiled against her lips as they kissed and squeezed her hands.

"You are the most amazing woman I know." He told her.

"What are you after?" She laughed.

"Nothing. I'm just telling you the truth." He answered. "And...maybe a repeat performance of earlier."

"Well I'm sorry Mr Harper but I am too tired." She told him. "So this time when I say no, I mean no."

"Are you sure I can't persuade you?" He said, running his hands down her sides, over her hips and to her arse.

"No." She answered, moving his hands away. "And unless you want to spend the night alone, you'll keep your hands to yourself."

"Ok." He pouted.

They changed and climbed into bed. When Gwen curled up into him, he raised his hands above his head.

"What are you doing?" She laughed.

"You said I had to keep my hands to myself. So I am." He told her.

"I didn't mean...oh come here." She said and tugged his arms down and around her. He kissed the top of her head as they both shifted to get more comfortable. "Owen, what you did today with the dinner and everything, it was so sweet and wonderful. Thank you, I love you."

"I just wanted to show you how much I love you and how much you mean to me." He explained.

"You're so adorable. How can I thank you? Is there anything you want?" She asked.

"Just you." He answered. "I just want you."

"Owen." She warned.

"No, I don't mean like that. Well...I do want you like that – what I mean is, I just want you to be with me and tell me you love me. That's enough for me." He told her.

She pulled herself up to look at him and smiled.

"I promise to tell you I love you every day." She said.

"That's all I ask." He replied.

She kissed him and lay back down, her head resting on his chest. His hand traced circles on her back and soon they were both asleep.

The next day, the whole team was sat in Jack's room. Jack and Ianto were perched on the edge of the bed, Tosh on a chair by the mirror and Gwen and Owen were sat on the window seat. They had an hour to go before Gwen was meeting with Paul.

The room was filled with tension as time seemed to slow down. Gwen just wanted to get it over with. She was playing with Owen's hand nervously in her lap, clasping it in hers for a minute then letting go and placing it on her knee with hers on top. She let go and started fidgeting instead. Owen pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms tight around her. She leant her head on his shoulder and clutched the front of his shirt.

"Gwen, everything's going to be fine. We'll be right behind you." Jack reassured her. "We've been given a car so we can follow you there. Once you get there, we'll call the cops and have the place surrounded."

"But how will you know where I am? He's going to notice a car following him." She argued.

"Take your comms. I can track the signal on my PDA. Plus, we'll be able to hear if you get into trouble." Tosh told her.

"He'll be able to see it though." She said.

"Don't wear it on your ear then." Tosh shrugged as she passed the device to Gwen.

"Where..." Gwen looked down then stuffed it down the front of her top into her bra. Owen raised an eyebrow as he got a clear view down her t-shirt. Ianto nodded, impressed at her initiative. She looked up, pleased with herself and nodded. "There, sorted."

"Want me to make sure it's in there properly? Don't want it falling out." Owen suggested.

She hit him playfully on the arm and giggled.

"Let us know the minute anything happens." Jack told her.

"I will." She promised. "Don't you have any idea where he's going to take me? You've been following him around."

"He mostly sticks to public places by day. After his date with you, he disappears. I have no idea where he goes." Jack answered.

"Great." Gwen said sarcastically. "I'll be going out with the Scarlet Pimpernel. No chance he's related to Bernie Harris is there?"

She sighed and hid her face in Owen's chest. Owen placed comforting kisses on the top of her head as he rubbed her back.

With fifteen minutes to go, Owen could feel her trembling slightly. He wished there was something they could do instead of sending her out there alone.

Gwen suddenly climbed off his lap and pulled him outside. The rest of the team watched them go before glancing at each other.

"Gwen, what's wrong?" Owen asked in concern.

"I'm scared Owen, terrified. What if you don't get there in time? What if he knows we're onto him?" She panicked.

He grabbed both her arms and looked into her eyes.

"I won't let anything happen to you, I swear. I'll be right behind you with Jack and the others. You are going to be fine. I swear on my own life, I will not let you get hurt." He told her firmly.

"I know, I trust you." She nodded. "But so many things can go wrong with this."

"Gwen, nothing will go wrong." He said, his hands moving to cup her face.

She fought back the tears and covered his hands with hers.

"Kiss me. Please." She whispered desperately.

He brought her lips to his and kissed her. Her lips were urgent on his as he poured his love into the kiss.

It wasn't until they felt a hand on their shoulders that they broke apart. They turned to see Jack standing beside them, Tosh and Ianto behind him.

"Time to go." He told them. "Comms turned on?"

Owen could see how frightened she was and he did the only thing he could think of to try and cheer her up, at least for a few minutes.

"I'll check." Owen said. They all shook their heads, thinking he was joking. It wasn't until he pushed Gwen up against the wall and blocked her from everyone's view, that they realised he was being serious. She gasped as his hand disappeared down her shirt. "Hmm...can't seem to find it...oh, yep, it is now."

Gwen was bright red when they turned back to the rest of the team but there was a small smile on her face. They were all looking away uncomfortably.

"Yeah, thanks Owen." Jack said. "Ready to go Gwen?"

She took a deep breath before nodding and disappearing into the elevator.

As soon as she was gone, Owen grabbed his comms and shoved it in his ear. Seconds later, he heard Paul's muffled voice.

"You didn't tell your boss did you?" He asked.

"Nope. He thinks I'm in my room." She answered.

"Let's go then." He said.

"Oh, it's still roasting _out here_." She sighed, emphasising the last two words so the team knew they'd left.

"They've just left." Owen told them.

Jack and the others put in their comms as they followed.

"Good acoustics." Jack smirked as they listened to the small talk between Gwen and Paul.

"Hey." Owen warned. "You seem to forget, that's my girlfriend you're talking about."

"How could we forget, you're all over each other. Not to mention the morning I walked in on you two." Jack commented.

"Oh you didn't?" Ianto cringed.

"Look, can we please focus on what's happening right this minute?" Owen asked.

"I agree." Tosh said. "I'm tracking Gwen's comms now."

Jack jumped into the drivers seat with Owen taking the seat beside him. Tosh and Ianto climbed into the back with Tosh giving directions.

Gwen sat beside Paul in a truck like the one Carolina had described.

All through the journey, her heart was pounding and she was sure the team would be able to hear it, hell she thought even Paul could hear it. She kept glancing in the mirrors to see if she could see any cars following them but the roads were empty behind them.

"Owen, please be there." She prayed.

"So how does it feel to be free from that lot?" Paul asked.

"Oh brilliant." She answered with a false smile.

"You alright, you seem a bit quiet." He said.

"I'm fine." She told him. "Just a little worried about what they'll say when I get back."

"What if you don't go back?" Paul smirked at her.

"What?" She frowned.

"You said yourself, you feel like they're controlling you. Why not get away from it all?" He suggested.

"I can't – I have to go back. My family would be worried sick. I can't leave my home." She argued.

"You can keep in contact with your family." He shrugged.

"Paul...where are we going?" She asked.

He remained silent as Gwen watched an evil grin slowly appear on his lips. He flexed his grip on the steering wheel and she gulped.

"Jack, I am not liking the sound of this." Owen said as they followed the route Tosh was giving them.

"Me neither." Jack replied, his voice thick with worry.

"We've got to do something. Speed up, catch up with them." He shouted. "God, where's the SUV when you need it?"

"Back in Cardiff." Jack answered. "Calm down. We'll get there. Nothing is going to happen to her."

"We'll never get there in this thing." Owen growled, punching the dashboard in front of him.

"Owen, calm down." Jack shouted. "I know you're worried, we all are, but we have to remain calm or mistakes will happen. Mistakes that in this case could cost lives, Gwen's life. Do you want to risk that happening?"

"No." Owen replied.

"Then calm down." The Captain said firmly.

Paul suddenly took a sharp turn onto a dirt road throwing Gwen into the door. He cut the engine and turned towards her. The dark glint in his eyes frightened her as he unbuckled his belt and leant towards her. He grabbed her hair and pulled her face to his. She gasped in fright as he grabbed her lip with his teeth and kissed her roughly. She tried to pull away but his grip on her hair was too tight and painful. Blood trickled over her bottom lip as he broke the skin. His other hand yanked her t-shirt down and he grabbed at her. Her screams were muffled by his lips and she prayed the team were near. His fingers closed around the communications device and he pulled it out.

"Do you think I'm stupid?" He growled. "I knew something was up the minute I walked back into that bar and saw you with that bloke. Was he the one that gave you these?"

His fingers pressed against the bite marks still visible on her neck.

"Please, let me go." She begged.

"No, it's gone too far for that." He hissed.

He climbed out of the truck and locked the doors so she couldn't escape. He waved the little device at her before throwing it to the floor and stamping on it. Her eyes grew wider as she watched him and she was shaking uncontrollably. She followed him with her eyes as he walked over to her side and unlocked the door. He undid her seatbelt and grabbed her wrist.

"Please don't." She sobbed.

"Get out." He snarled, yanking her from her seat.

The force made her fall to the floor on her knees. She was frozen in fear and could only move when he dragged her up and through some bushes at the side.

The whole team froze as they heard Gwen screaming and then the line went dead.

"Jack, her comms signal, it's gone." Tosh said.

"Shit." Owen spat, hitting the first thing he could get his hands on. "Jack you'd better find her fast because if anything happens to her, I'll kill you. When you come back, I'll kill you over and over again until you're begging for mercy."

"I swear to you, we're going to find her." Jack told him. "Ianto, call the cops, have them searching the whole area. Tosh, where did the last signal come from?"

"We're close now, a few metres ahead and a sharp turn onto a dirt road." Tosh answered.

"Gwen, I'm coming. I promise." Owen whispered.

The setting was similar to her dream, only this time, the field had trees and bushes around it. He dragged her to the centre of the field, miles away from them so even if she did manage to get away, she wouldn't be able to reach them in time before he caught her again.

She knew there were going to be bruises on her wrist from how tight he was holding her. There were already red marks under his fingers.

She wiped the blood away from her chin with the back of her free hand as he threw her back down onto the floor. Her eyes fell on familiar markings in the grass and she tried to scrabble away but he put his foot down on her back and pinned her to the floor.

As he knelt down to straddle her hips, she looked over her shoulder and saw him pull out his knife from his belt. She screamed again and he clamped a hand over her mouth. He slowly turned her over and she tried to throw him off but he was too strong.

Holding the knife to her neck, he leant down to whisper in her ear.

"You really shouldn't have pissed me off Gwen." He told her.

"What are you going to do to me?" She asked, though she realised it was a stupid question.

"Well, the others I'd torture for a few minutes, then I'd end it. But you...you deceived me. Your death will be the most painful and slowest yet." He hissed.

"Why? Why do you do it?" She whispered through her tears.

"Don't try and buy yourself time Gwen." He sighed.

Paul crushed his lips to hers again. Her bottom lip stung as he drew yet more blood.

When she tried to shove him off, he grabbed her arms and moved them to her sides and pinned them against her body with his legs. He laughed and ran the cold blade across her cheek, slicing into her skin. She cried out and squirmed underneath him, trying to throw him off but he was too strong.

Grabbing one of her arms, he pressed the knife into it and watched her face twist in agony. Her screams filled the air yet there was no one around for miles to hear them.

She managed to pull her other arm free and shoved him, taking him by surprise. As his grip loosened, she dragged her knees up from under him and then kicked him off her. He fell back winded and she scrabbled up, clutching her injured arm.

The blood was pounding in her head as she started running back towards the bushes they'd come through. She heard footsteps gaining on her and then she was grabbed from behind. Gwen tried to pull out of his grasp but he knocked her to the floor once again. His knee landed between her shoulder blades knocking the wind out of her. He grabbed her by the shoulder and yanked her over onto her front. He tore at her clothes, ripping her t-shirt to shreds and tearing holes into her jeans. She felt the knife press against the inside of her leg and screamed as she felt it's sharp bite.

Owen slammed the car door shut as he jumped out. Tosh had directed them to where she'd last picked up the signal and sure enough, there was the truck. On the floor beside it, he could see Gwen's comms, smashed to pieces. He ran over to the side of the truck and peered in through the window but found no one inside.

"Where the hell are they?" He shouted as the rest of the team got out of the car. They all froze as a high pitched scream pierced the air. "Gwen!"

Owen sped off in the direction it came from and grabbed his gun from it's place at his side. The rest of them followed and copied him.

They fought their way through the bushes and came through to a field. A little way off, there was a figure knelt on the floor, another figure trapped beneath them.

"Get away from her." Jack ordered as he aimed his gun at the figure kneeling.

Paul jumped up quickly and started to run across the field but Jack was too quick for him. The Captain caught him, threw him to the floor, held him there with his foot and kept his gun aimed at his head.

Owen ran straight to Gwen who lay on the floor, sobbing and shaking in fright. Her clothes were torn and stained with blood and grass. Dirt covered any patch of skin that wasn't covered by her clothes. Her knees and elbows were grazed from where she'd fallen.

He slid an arm beneath her and pulled her up until she was in a sitting position. He cradled her against his chest, kissing any uninjured part of her face he could find.

After a few seconds she pushed him away and pulled herself up. She stood with most of her weight on her uninjured leg and winced as she moved.

"You promised..." She whispered. "You promised you'd be here...you promised nothing would happen..."

"Gwen, we tried to get here as quick as we could. We tried, I swear." He told her as he stood up. "I was going out of my mind worrying about you but there was nothing I could do. I swear I tried to get to you."

She shook her head and turned to leave.

"You promised." She sobbed.

Owen watched her limp over to where Tosh and Ianto were stood, feeling as though he'd failed her. He turned and charged over to Jack and Paul, cocking his gun as he went. Jack held out his hand to stop him.

"Owen no." He shouted.

"Jack, he's killed people, he doesn't deserve to live. Look what he's done to Gwen." Owen argued.

"Do you think killing him is going to change any of that?" Jack asked. "Killing him won't bring those people back." Owen reluctantly disarmed his gun and lowered it. Jack turned to Paul and pressed his foot down heavier. "What did you do with the bodies?"

"I brought them here." He laughed. "No one ever comes here. I found the turn off when I killed my first victim." The way he was talking so casually and uncaring made Owen feel sick to the bone. He turned to Jack and saw that he felt the same way. His teeth were clenched and a pure look of disgust was pasted on his face. "I buried them all around here in the trees."

"Why did you do it?" Jack demanded.

"I've got nothing. I've got no family left, no home, no job. My girlfriend kicked me out and I got fired from work. I had to get away from it all so I came here. Then I see these people, they were walking around taking everything they had for granted. Why should they be allowed to have everything and I can't have anything? I've worked hard all my life to get what I had but these people have done nothing to deserve all the things they take for granted." He explained, getting angrier and angrier.

Owen couldn't listen any more and he walked back over to the others.

Tosh had an arm around Gwen to support her while Ianto was on the phone to the police.

"Tosh, help me get Gwen back to the car. I need to take a look at those wounds." Owen told her.

He stood the other side of Gwen and wrapped his arm around her waist. She didn't say a word to him as she let them lead her back to the vehicle.

He sat her on the back seat with her legs out of the car and passed a torch to Tosh. She shone the light over his shoulder so he could see what he was doing, looking away discreetly as he had to peel her jeans down to exam the cut on her leg. It ran from the top of her inner thigh to a few inches above her knee. Gwen hissed as he gently touched around the area. There was too much blood for him to see clearly, he needed something to wipe it away.

"What is it?" Tosh asked as he looked around.

"I need something to wipe away the blood." He answered.

Tosh pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and passed it to him.

"It's clean, I haven't used it." She told him. He nodded thanks and started dabbing at the wound. Gwen hissed again and gripped the edge of the seat. "Will she need to go to the hospital?"

"No. It's not as deep as it looks. The bleeding's slowing so that's a good sign. He hasn't cut into any major arteries." He told her. "I brought my emergency first aid kit with us but it's back at the hotel. When we get back I'll have to clean these up properly to make sure they don't get infected, bandage them up for a few days to make sure they don't get dirt in them while they heal. Alright Gwen, you can pull your jeans back up now." She did as he said and sat back down as he looked at the cut on her arm. The blood was still flowing out of it but it wasn't too bad. The handkerchief was too small to act as a bandage. "Erm...Gwen...I need to...tear some of your shirt to bandage this up until we get back."

"Knock yourself out." She mumbled. "It's torn anyway."

He noticed her flinch slightly as he tore a strip from her shirt and felt guilt flow through him. Once he'd tied it around her wound, he stood up and took off his jacket, draping it around her shoulders.

When she grabbed the edge of the jacket, he thought she was going to throw it off. The thought seemed to cross her mind as she sat still for a few seconds. After a while, she pulled the jacket tighter around her, looking anywhere but at him.

He knelt back down in front of her and ran his finger under the cut on her cheek then over her lip. Her eyes closed as fresh tears rolled down her face.

"I'm so sorry." He whispered.

She pulled back and turned her face away from him. Owen stood up, pain stabbing at his heart as he looked at the woman he loved knowing she blamed him for what happened.

He turned and spotted Paul's truck. Taking his gun out, he fired shots at the tires and windows. Once his gun was empty, he dropped it to the floor and started pounding the truck with his fists and feet. Paul had done this to her and since he wasn't allowed to take his anger out on him, he took it out on the truck.

Tosh watched him, knowing he needed to do this. Gwen looked up for a few seconds before turning away sadly.

He aimed one last punch at the door before letting his head and shoulders droop. Tosh walked up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder.

Sirens sounded in the distance and soon blue flashing lights lit up the area.

"Owen." Tosh said as she turned to see a police car speeding up the dirt road.

Police officers jumped out of the car and over to them. One of them stopped by the car and checked in on Gwen.

"Through there." Owen said, pointing towards where Jack held Paul.

"Is she ok?" The officer by the car asked in his strong Spanish accent.

"She's fine." He answered. "I've sorted out her wounds as best as I can until I get her back to our hotel. I'm a doctor by the way."

"We need a statement." The officer told Gwen.

"Can't you wait until tomorrow?" Owen asked. "She's been under enough stress tonight."

"I'll do it now." She snapped. "I want to get this over with."

As she gave her statement, two officers came back through the bushes dragging Paul between them. Jack and Ianto followed and joined the rest of the team.

"Wait." Owen called. The police officers stopped as he walked over and stood directly in front of Paul. "I hope they lock you away for good and you rot away in jail."

He brought his fist back and punched him hard in the jaw. Jack and Ianto held him back as the police led Paul to their car and shoved him inside. They watched them leave before letting him go.

"You guys go back to the hotel, I'll wait for the forensics guys to come and pick up the bodies." Jack told them.

"How will you get back?" Ianto asked.

"I'll walk." He answered. "I need space."

Ianto knew Jack was just as affected by this as they were, possibly even more so he nodded in agreement.

"But it's miles back to the hotel." Tosh protested.

"If I get tired, I'll call a cab." He said.

The team piled into the car and Jack watched them leave.

On the drive back, Ianto drove with Tosh at his side while Gwen and Owen sat in the back. Owen sat in the middle holding Gwen's hand though she was looking out of the window, her hand lying limp in his. He knew there was still hope though as every time she thought he wasn't looking, she'd nuzzle her nose into the collar of his jacket.

He supported her up to her hotel room once they'd got back and led her into the bathroom. She handed him his jacket back and nodded slightly to say thanks. He left her as he went to his own room to fetch his first aid kit.

When he returned, she was peeling off her ruined clothes and the shower was running. She'd taken off the make-shift bandage around her arm and thrown it on top of the pile of clothes.

She let him clean her wounds properly with antiseptic but still didn't look at him or say a word to him. She grabbed his shoulder as he cleaned the wounds on her leg, hissing in pain. As quick as she grabbed him, she let go and gripped the side instead.

"Sorry." He apologised. After he'd finished cleaning her wounds, he stood up and collected his things. "I'll wait in the other room until you've done and then I'll put some bandages on those cuts."

He left the room and she sighed as she watched him go. She knew it wasn't his fault. He'd never let her get hurt if he could help it, she knew that. It wasn't Owen's fault they didn't get there sooner.

She showered, ignoring the pain from her stinging wounds. The water was tinged red and brown as it washed away all the dirt and dried blood. She picked grass and small leaves out of her hair.

After a while, she managed to relax as she felt the water pound on her back, massaging out the tension in her shoulders.

She finished washing and wrapped a towel around herself.

Owen was sitting on the edge of her bed with his head in his hands when she walked into the room. She cleared her throat and he stood up quickly. Gwen sat on her bed and held out her arm for him to bandage the wound. He gently wrapped it up in clean bandages. He hesitated as his hands hovered over the towel resting on her thigh. Gwen rolled her eyes and pulled it up enough for him to bandage the wound. He had to lift her leg up and rest her foot on his leg so he could tuck the bandage underneath. She couldn't help but smile as he tried not to brush his fingers against her skin.

Owen stood up once he'd finished and went to leave the room.

"Owen." She called. He turned in the doorway and looked over at her. "You forgot your kit."

His face fell as she handed it to him.

"Oh, right. Well...night Gwen." He mumbled.

"Goodnight." She replied as he left the room. When the door clicked shut, she sighed and closed her eyes. "'You forgot your kit'? Not, 'it wasn't your fault Owen'. Not, 'I love you'. No, 'you forgot your kit'. Come on Gwen."

She threw her towel to the floor in frustration and changed into her night things, black shorts with a black vest top to match. Gwen combed out her hair and climbed into bed.

Owen tossed and turned in his bed, thinking about Gwen. He couldn't forget the look she'd given him when they found her. There was so much pain her eyes, not just from her physical wounds. He'd promised her he wouldn't let her get hurt and he'd broken that promise. Was she ever going to be able to trust him again? He would gain her trust back, he was going to look after her and let her know he would never let something like this happen again.

His door opened and a slither of light shone onto the bed before it closed again. He ignored it thinking it was just Jack returning to the hotel and poking his head round the door to check on him.

The bed dipped beside him and he rolled over to face whoever it was, clicking on the light as he did.

"Gwen." He gasped. She was sitting beside him, blinking at him as her eyes adjusted to the light. "What's wrong? Is it your arm? Your leg? I've got painkillers if you want some."

"No, I'm fine." She told him. She reached for his hand and covered it with hers. "Owen, I want you to know I don't blame you for what happened. It wasn't your fault. I was just so scared."

"Gwen, I'm really sorry. I should have got to you sooner, I should have been there to stop this like I promised." He argued.

"Owen." She said, silencing him with a finger on his lips. "It's not your fault. There was nothing you could do." He gave her a small smile as she brushed his cheek with her hand. "I wish I could kiss you right now but it hurts too much."

He chuckled as she pouted, looking down at her injured lip. She giggled as she looked back up at him and held his hand tight in hers.

"That no kissing thing might become a bit of a problem because I really want to kiss you too." He told her, cradling her in his arms.

Gwen winced as she brought her knees up to curl into him.

"There are a few things we won't be doing for a while." She sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Why are you saying sorry?" He asked as he ran his hand up and down her back.

"Because we can't..." She answered.

"Gwen, that doesn't matter to me. All that matters is that you get better." He said. She raised an eyebrow at him and tilted her head to the side. "Ok, I admit it's going to be difficult but it's not the most important thing to me. You are."

"Oh sod it." She said and captured his lips in a rather awkward kiss.

He tried to be as gentle as he could, only lightly brushing his lips with hers but she was getting frustrated. Gwen gripped the back of his head and pressed his face into hers. She gasped a little as it reopened the wound. A moan escaped her throat as Owen's tongue ran across her lip, wiping away the blood. He gently lowered her down onto the bed, not breaking the kiss. She went to wrap her legs around him but the pain was too unbearable this time and she cried out. Owen pulled away and watched her in concern.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have done that. It's just...this is going to be harder than I thought." He told her.

"Tell me about it." She sighed.

He pulled himself away and lay on his side next to her, keeping his arm draped across her stomach. They stared longingly at each other, Gwen cursing her injuries in her head.

"We should get some sleep." Owen said. "Stay here tonight, please."

"I will." She nodded.

He kissed her again, deeper than the first time. She pushed him away quickly before it got any further causing him to growl.

"Sorry, sorry." He mumbled. "Goodnight, I love you."

"I love you too sweetheart." She smiled as he turned the light off.

He fumbled in the dark and wrapped his arms around her as she snuggled into him.

"Gwen...are you ok? I mean really?" He asked. "You've been through so much today."

"I'm...I will be...fine." She whispered. "As long as you tell me you love me and help me get through this."

"Always." He replied. "I will always be here for you and I will always love you."

"Then I'll be fine." She told him.

He kissed the top of her head and tightened his arms around her.

Jack called a team meeting in his room the next morning.

"The forensics team found the bodies, they've been taken to the morgue and the families contacted. I've spoken to Carolina and her parents this morning and told them the good news too." Jack told them. "We're free to go home but we could all do with a break. I'm giving us one more week here before we go back."

"You're giving us a holiday?" Gwen asked in disbelief.

Jack shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Why not?" He smiled. His smile dropped as he looked straight at her. "You deserve it. You went through enough last night." He looked around at the rest of the team. "You all deserve it. So go on, party, whatever. Just go have fun. I won't give you this chance again."

The team laughed as they went their separate ways.

"Gwen, do you want to go down to the pool again?" Tosh asked.

"Oh...I don't know..." Gwen answered, feeling self-conscious about everyone seeing her injuries. She'd almost cried when she saw the red cut across her cheek in the mirror. Owen had to hold her for a while and comfort her. Her wrist had purple finger marks all around it, so close together they almost looked like one big bruise. Then there were the bandages on her leg and arm. "I think I'll give it a miss today."

Owen noticed her hand wander to the bandage on her arm before she dropped it back to her side. He put his arm around her waist and forced her to look at him.

"Stop worrying about what other people will think of you." He told her. "If you want to go to the pool with Tosh, go. Don't worry about what people are going to say."

She gave him a small smile and nodded.

"This is why I love you." She said. "Alright Tosh, I'll come."

"Great." Tosh smiled. "Owen, Jack, Ianto, will you be joining us?"

"Erm...I have...really sensitive skin. I...burn really easily so I think I'll stay inside." Ianto answered.

"I'll keep Ianto company." Jack replied.

The other three raised their eyebrows and smirked.

"Ok...Owen?" Tosh asked.

"I'll come." He nodded. The three of them walked out of Jack's room and out into the hallway. "I really don't want to be stuck inside with those two."

Gwen and Tosh giggled as they looked at each other.

"You two are just as bad you know." Tosh laughed.

Gwen's giggling stopped and she turned a deep shade of red.

"No we're not." She mumbled.

"Yes you are. In fact you're worse." Tosh said. "Remember that public display last night with the whole comms thing."

Gwen's blush deepened and she lowered her head to hide her face in her hair.

"Yeah..." Owen said as he remembered. His eyes glazed over as he thought about it. Gwen jabbed him hard in the stomach with her elbow and broke him out of his thoughts. "Sorry...you two go ahead. I need to go back and sort something out."

He turned and jogged back to his room, slamming the door shut behind him.

"I don't want to know." Tosh said as she went to her room to grab her sun cream.

Gwen just shook her head.

When Tosh returned, they continued on their way to the pool. They grabbed the loungers they'd sat on last time and lay back.

Owen joined them a while later, his face flushed. Gwen smirked at him as he found it hard to look at her and when he did, his eyes would wander.

He sat down beside her and she reached across for his hand, bringing it to rest on her thigh with hers.

"You ok?" She asked.

"Yep, fine." He nodded. "Are you?"

Gwen glanced around at the people in and around the pool. No one seemed to be staring or pointing or making comments. She relaxed more in her chair and smiled.

"I'm absolutely fine." She answered.

He squeezed her hand and smiled at her.

"I can't help but think Jack's going to work us to the bone when we get back." Tosh sighed.

"Yes so do I." Gwen nodded. "I feel a lot of late nights coming up."

"There's no way Jack's going to let us have all this free time and not have us make up for it." Owen agreed.

"Oh well." Tosh shrugged.

The three of them lounged for the rest of the afternoon and Owen found himself nodding off. Gwen giggled as she looked at him and then at Toshiko.

"I'll be right back." She whispered.

Gwen let go of Owen's hand and placed it in his own lap and ran back inside. Tosh frowned in confusion as she watched her go.

When Gwen returned, she was carrying her make-up bag.

"You are so..." Tosh giggled. She wanted to say evil but when Gwen started applying eye shadow on his eyelids, she couldn't help but grab some lipstick from the bag. "Here, let's put this on him."

Gwen grinned and nodded as Tosh stood beside her.

Once they'd finished applying Owen's make-up, they stood back to admire their work. Gwen took out her phone and snapped a picture of him.

"Here, put some make-up on quick." Gwen said. "We'll say I've given you a make over so he doesn't get suspicious when he sees the bag."

She quickly helped Tosh apply her make-up and sat back waiting for him to wake up.

An hour later, Owen's eyes drifted open and he turned to smile sleepily at Gwen. Both women burst out laughing as he looked at them, blinking his dark blue eyelids.

"What's the matter?" He asked.

"Nothing." Gwen laughed.

A woman walked past and stared at Owen, her eyebrows raised.

"Ok...what was that about?" He frowned.

"I don't know." Gwen shrugged. "Owen, you're so pretty."

Tosh spluttered and wiped tears from her eyes as she laughed so hard she thought her sides would burst.

More people walked past and shot Owen weird looks. He started to get annoyed and sat up in his chair.

"Is there something on my face or what?" He demanded.

Gwen glanced at Tosh before passing Owen her compact mirror from her bag.

"Get ready to run." She whispered.

Owen's eyes widened as he saw his reflection and glared at the girls.

"Oh you are so dead." He growled.

Tosh and Gwen bolted out of their chairs as Owen chased after them. He caught Toshiko first and grabbed her in a fireman's lift before carrying her to the edge of the pool.

"No, Owen put me down." She squealed.

"Alright, I will." He said.

Gwen watched as he threw her into the pool and laughed. Tosh broke the surface, spluttering and wiping the water out of her eyes. He slowly turned to Gwen and her eyes widened as he started walking towards her. She darted around everyone, trying to get away but she was limping slightly from the cut on her leg.

"Go Gwen." Tosh shouted.

As Gwen ran around the pool one way, she didn't spot Owen back track and run the other way. When she spotted him, it was too late and he'd grabbed her around the waist. She giggled as he picked her up the way he had done with Tosh. This time however, he slapped her arse as he carried her to the pool.

"Ready to get wet?" He asked.

"No." She laughed. "Owen don't you dare. I'll...I won't sleep with you for a whole week."

Owen stopped and put her down quickly. He looked at her for a few seconds before scooping her back up.

"You put make-up on me. I'm not letting you get away with that." He said.

"Ok, if I'm going in -" Owen threw her in but she kept a tight grip on him. "You're coming with me."

He hit the water with her and gasped as he broke the surface, washing the make-up away with his hands. She came up beside him, laughing wildly. Owen pulled her to him by her hips and pressed her into him. Her arms went around his neck as she grinned up at him. He lowered his lips onto hers. He pulled back quickly when she gasped.

"Sorry, I forgot." He sighed.

"Me too." She nodded. Gwen sighed and leant her forehead against his chest, clenching her fists. "God I hate this."

"Just a couple more days." He told her.

He helped her climb out of the pool and they joined Toshiko who was sitting back in her lounger.

"Actually, I think I'm going to go change into something dry and just chill in my room." She told them.

"Yeah, me too." Gwen nodded.

"I'll chill in Gwen's room." He grinned, wriggling his eyebrows at them. She rolled her eyes and shook her head as she looked at Tosh. "Anyway, I should put dry bandages on those wounds."

Tosh went to her room as Gwen and Owen went into hers.

Gwen went into the bathroom and grabbed the fresh towels someone had brought up and threw one to Owen. They shed their clothes and patted themselves dry. Gwen sat on her bed as Owen went to fetch his first aid kit, his towel wrapped around his waist.

He almost fell over when he returned and Gwen had decided to lose hers.

"Well, get to work then." She smirked.

Owen cleared his throat and knelt down in front of her. He pulled the bandage from around her arm and examined the cut.

"It's looking better already. It'll be healed in no time." He told her as he wrapped a dry bandage over it.

"What about this one?" She asked, unravelling the bandage on her leg and placing it in the position he'd put it in yesterday.

"Well – this one – yeah – it should heal soon." He stammered. "Erm..."

His cheeks tinged pink as his hands brushed her thigh as he covered it in a new bandage. She grinned and leant back on her hands.

"Owen Harper, are you blushing?" She laughed.

"No." He mumbled. "You can...put your leg down now." She left it where it was and shot him a challenging look. He raised an eyebrow and ran a hand from her ankle to her thigh. "You're in dangerous territory Miss Cooper." As his fingers brushed the bottom of her bandage, he sighed and let go. "Territory neither of us can enter."

"I know." She sighed, removing her leg from his. "I just wanted to see your face."

"You tease." He said.

"Oh yes." She nodded and reached for some dry clothes.

He grabbed her wrist causing her to look up at him in shock.

"You wait Gwen Cooper. You just wait." He told her.

He trailed kisses along her arm to her neck and listened as her breath hitched. She let her head fall back as he ran his fingers over her pulse point. When he pulled away, she looked back up at him and stared into his eyes. He threw the clothes she'd reached for over to her and grinned.

"Now who's the bloody tease?" She mumbled as she pulled them on.

A few nights later, Gwen was sat up in bed waiting for Owen to join her after he finished in the bathroom. She heard him turn off the light and he padded into the room seconds later. He was whistling as he climbed in beside her. He stopped as she stared at him.

"Sorry." He said. "I'll stop if you -" He was cut off by Gwen pouncing on him and crushing her lips onto his. He gripped her hips tight as he fell back on the bed. "Your lip seems to have healed then."

"And my leg doesn't hurt any more." She whispered in his ear as she leant over him.

He flipped them over, pushing her into the mattress as he covered her neck and shoulders in kisses, biting down occasionally. Gwen made short work of his pants as Owen threw off her top. Gripping her pants in his hands, he almost tore them as he threw them off her. Her legs locked around his waist as he planted opened mouthed kisses over her chest.

"I have waited too long for this." He growled.

Her eyes closed and a loud moan escaped her lips as his hands caressed her body.

Owen collapsed on top of her some time later, their bodies drenched in sweat. Their heavy breathing filled the silence of the room. Gwen let her legs drop from around him as he rested his head on her chest. She ran her fingers through his hair, her eyes closed as she recovered.

"Was it just me or was that just...amazing?" She panted.

"It wasn't just you." He replied. "That was...indescribable."

"We should...shower." She mumbled, though she didn't want to move from her position.

"Yeah, just a few more minutes." He nodded, not wanting to leave his either.

He could hear her heart still pounding against her chest and the shaky breaths she took. The hypnotic rhythm almost sent him to sleep but he leant up on his elbows to look at her. She too was almost asleep, looking back through heavy, almost closed lids. He kissed them as he pulled away. She locked her arms around his neck and protested.

"No." She moaned.

He sat up, pulling her with him. As he stood up, her legs wrapped tight around his waist and she clung to him.

"Come on spider monkey." He said and carried her into the bathroom.

Once stood under the cool spray of the shower, Gwen placed her feet on the floor but kept her arms around his neck.

"I love you." She told him.

"I love you too." He smiled.

"You know, tomorrow is our last night here." She told him.

"Yes it is." He nodded. "And what of it?"

"How about we take another midnight dip in that pool?" She suggested.

"I don't think I could after that." He laughed. "But I'm not going to let that stop me."

The next night, Jack spotted them returning to Owen's room, hair wet and wrapped in towels.

On the plane journey back, Owen and Gwen sat together sharing private jokes and running hands and lips all over each other.

Jack was sat in front of them and he could hear almost every gasp or slight moan that escaped one of their lips. He knelt up on his chair and turned to them.

"So what were you two up to last night?" He asked.

"Nothing." Owen answered. "Why?"

"I saw you both sneaking back into the hotel room." Jack told him. "You both looked pretty wet." Gwen shifted uncomfortably, confirming his thoughts. "Nice."

She glared at the Captain and grabbed Owen's hand in hers.

"You know what Jack, it was amazing. You and Ianto should have tried it." She shot back.

Jack looked away in embarrassment and sat down quickly.

She grinned smugly at Owen and kissed him.

When they got back to the Hub, Tosh, Owen and Gwen went to the car park where they'd left their cars while they were away. Ianto stayed at the Hub with Jack.

"I'll see you guys later." Tosh smiled.

"Bye Tosh." Gwen smiled.

"Laters." Owen nodded. They watched Tosh leave and waved as she drove away. Owen held Gwen's hands in his and smiled. "You coming to mine or going home or what?"

Gwen sighed as she realised what she'd be going home to. An empty flat.

"I think...I think I'm going to go home." She told him. "This week with you has been so wonderful but I need to come back to the real world and face what's happened."

"Alright. You know where to find me if you need me and you've got my number. Seriously, if you need me, I'll be there." He told her. "I'll see you tomorrow. I love you."

"Love you too." She smiled as she pulled him into a kiss.

His hands gripped her hips under her shirt and she giggled as his thumb brushed her skin, tickling her.

"You'd better go before I kidnap you and lock you in my flat forever." He said. "Actually...that's not a bad idea."

"Well if you do, just wait until next week." She replied.

"You mean you'd let me?" He asked.

"Of course I would." She smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"Ok." He said and threw her over his shoulder.

She laughed as he started to carry her over to his car. He chuckled and put her down, keeping his arms wrapped around her. He kissed her forehead and the tip of her nose before capturing her lips with his.

"Go home you." She smiled and kissed him again. "See you soon. Love you."

"Love you more." He said.

He kissed her one last time before letting her go and watching her leave.

Gwen took a deep breath as she let herself into her flat. She could tell instantly that something was missing. She didn't need to see Rhys' clothes missing from the wardrobe or his shower gels gone from the shelf in the bathroom to know. The whole flat felt huge and lonely without him.

Guilt and regret flooded through her as she remembered the way things had ended between them. She picked up her phone and debated whether to text him or not.

In the end she did. She had no idea what to say so she said the only thing she could think of.

"_I'm sorry.  
>xx"<em>

She didn't receive a reply and she felt tears building in her eyes. Wiping away a tear from her cheek, she took a shower and got ready for bed.

She climbed into bed and turned her back on the big empty space beside her. There was something missing here too but it wasn't Rhys' presence she missed. It was someone entirely different.

She was awake for almost two hours, though she tried her hardest to sleep, when she decided to get up and grab a glass of water. Padding out into the kitchen, she grabbed a glass and a bottle of cold water from the fridge. She looked down at the glass before deciding to just take the bottle instead.

Leaning against the worktop, she sipped her drink and looked around the empty flat. She sighed as she remembered all the happy memories they'd shared here...and also the bad ones.

Just as she turned the light off to go back to bed, her phone started to ring. She prayed it wasn't Jack asking her to go in already and closed her eyes and answered without checking the display.

"Hello." She said.

"Hey, sorry I didn't wake you did I?" Owen's voice asked.

She smiled and sat down on the sofa in the dark.

"No, no I was already up." She answered. "I couldn't sleep."

"Me neither. I miss you." He told her.

"I miss you too. It's just so weird being alone." She replied.

"Yeah. I thought maybe hearing your voice would make it better and I'd be able to sleep then but...I miss you more now. I just...need to see you." He said.

"Owen, I want to see you too." She whispered. "But not tonight. It just doesn't feel right at the minute."

"I know." He replied.

There were a few minutes of silence before Gwen broke it.

"So what are you doing?" She asked.

"Just...in bed talking to you." He answered. "You?"

"Sitting on the sofa, in the dark, with a bottle of water talking to you." She told him.

"Any particular reason why you're sitting in the dark?" He asked.

"Not really." She said.

"Sure you're not up to something you're too embarrassed to tell me?" He asked, the smirk clearly heard in his voice.

"No I am not." She laughed. "Are you? Or do I really not want to ask that question?"

"You don't want to know." He told her. "I'm joking – I'm joking."

"With you, it wouldn't surprise me if you weren't joking." She replied.

"What are you trying to say?" He asked.

"Just that you have a one track mind." She answered.

"Yeah..." He sighed. "But I swear it's only you in there...and me...and various pieces of furniture...and objects."

"Owen." She gasped through her giggles.

"What?" He asked innocently.

"You're terrible." She laughed.

"You can't tell me you're not thinking about it right now." He said. She fell silent as various images flashed through her mind. Her eyes fell on the little table in front of her and she felt her face grow hot as she imagined the things he could do to her there. "See, I'm not the only one."

"Yeah well...you're a bad influence." She argued. "I was never like this until I met you."

"Don't try blaming me." He laughed. "You're just as bad. There are things I didn't even know until you taught me them."

"Ok, ok." She giggled. "It's late we should get some sleep."

"I don't think I'll be able to without seeing you." He sighed. "But I'll try."

"Goodnight my darling." She smiled. "I love you."

"I love you too." He said. Gwen couldn't put the phone down. She waited to see if he would but he didn't either. "Gwen, you still there?"

"Yeah sorry." She laughed. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight."

"Goodnight." He replied.

She waited a few seconds before hanging up. She clutched the phone to her chest and closed her eyes.

Gwen woke up the next morning, still curled up on the sofa. It was strange not waking up with someone beside her and she didn't like it. She suddenly couldn't wait to see Owen again.

She hurried to get ready and left the flat for the Hub.

When she arrived, Owen was leaning against his car waiting for her. He was by her door within seconds of her turning the engine off. He pulled it open for her to get out and she flew into his arms. She crushed her lips onto his as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Owen lifted her off the floor as he responded eagerly.

"Morning." She smiled.

"Morning." He smiled back. "Listen, you're not going home tonight. You're coming with me. Last night was horrible."

"I know but...it just doesn't feel right yet." She told him. "I know we slept together practically every night in Spain but...here it's...different."

"Why?" He asked.

"Because...Rhys has just moved out." She answered. "I need to let things settle before I invite someone else into the bed."

"I understand that but that doesn't mean you can't come to mine." He argued.

"I know." She said. "Fine, I'll stay."

"Thank you." He said, hugging her tight to his chest. "I promise you, I have the most romantic dinner planned. I've bought wine, meat fresh from the butchers, the whole lot."

"Will it top the dinner in the hotel room?" She asked.

"Oh it'll be ten times better." He told her.

She smiled and took his hand in hers as they entered the Hub.


End file.
